Kiss Me, Break My Heart
by LoveEpicLove
Summary: Elena Gilbert has been in love with her best friend Damon Salvatore for years, but when he asks her to help him win back the woman of his dreams, Elena decides she's had enough. Now Elena wants to move on, but Damon's not making it easy on her. AU/AH
1. Chapter 1

**Preface**

Firstly, I want to thank everybody who has read, reviewed, and supported my work. I wouldn't be writing now without all of you, and writing is helping me stay sane at the moment. I also want to thank all my fanfiction friends (you know who you are) for your support whenever I've been feeling low about my writing, or anything else for that matter.

Secondly, I want to state that this story is being written in absolute chaos. Between my six week old baby, and my almost two year old, things are pretty crazy. Sleep is a thing of the past at the moment, and mess seems to accumulate much faster than I can clean it up. My brain is mush, so I'm going to ask you to overlook any really awkward sentences, or errors.

Thirdly, I haven't abandoned 'Bet Me', but in my muddled up state, I need to work on something that requires a little less of my attention, and so I decided to write the kind of story that I love to read. One of my favorite story lines, ever, is about friendships between men and women, where one or both of the parties are in denial about how they feel. I've always wanted to write one, but haven't because there are plenty around.

I love DE, and their friendship, and I'm excited to see them develop this season, but I'm aware it's going to be painful at times waiting for Elena to deal with her feelings for Stefan. And so this is more of my TVD style therapy for me (like Tonight We Tell The Truth was), because watching Damon suffering wears me out. By writing this AU/AH, I can play with their friendship, turn it on it's head, and change the dynamics. I'm finding that writing one of my fave story lines is a lot less demanding. I'll return to Bet Me when I have more time.

There is a substantial amount of Stefan/Katherine in this. They're not my favorite couple by any means, so writing them has been an interesting experience for me. In my mind, Damon and Stefan are actually half brothers here, but neither one of them knows it. I doubt it will come up in the story either.

I think that's it. Apologies for the long note, and on with the story.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

_**A Resolve Is Born**_

Despite the fact that Elena Gilbert loved her best friend Damon Salvatore to a fault, there were times when she wanted to shake some common sense into him. This was one of those times.

"I can't believe she left me for that ass-kisser. I mean, what does she see in him? Ugh, he's so boring."

It wasn't the first time Elena had heard Damon make these comments about his long-time work rival, Stefan. It was a sick and twisted game the two men played, spurred on by their employees, Klaus and Elijah Smith. A competition over who could win the affections of a selected target was something Elena thought totally despicable. Damon had lost the latest round of their game to Stefan. Usually Elena would tell him he deserved anything he got for partaking in such foolish games, but something was different this time. Most women walked in and out of Damon's life in the blink of an eye, but Katherine Pierce had walked in, and she'd never walked back out.

What Elena wanted to tell him was, 'you're better off without that heinous bitch. You need someone who loves and appreciates you, like I do.' Instead, however, she knocked back another shot of tequila. She'd never told him how she felt. Damon had broken so many hearts over the years that there was a group of Damon's ex-girlfriends who met weekly in town to bond over their pain, and throw darts at a cut-out of his face. Elena chose not to join that club. She had been friends with Damon for a long time, and the thought of losing the one constant in her life; the person who had been there for her through every success, every failure, every break-up, had stopped her from telling him how she felt.

"I have to get her back, Elena. I'd do anything."

"Women don't matter to you. That's what you tell me."

Elena knew Damon didn't count her in that, because fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it, Damon didn't see her that way. It had never worried her before, because he'd always made it his business to get out of any relationship, or fling, before he fell in love. For self-preservation, she'd never seriously contemplated letting him know how she felt. The bartender put more shots in front of them. Elena downed her two, and watched Damon drink his.

"Katherine's different," he told her.

"How?"

"I think I'm in love."

Elena felt as if she'd been sucker punched. Out of all the things she expected him to say, she'd never expected to hear him say that.

"You have to help me, Elena."

Elena couldn't believe it. She'd always thought that if he ever felt that way about a woman, it would be about her. She'd never contemplated Damon would go ahead and fall for that shrew of a woman. He couldn't be serious, could he?

"Tell me what to do," he pleaded.

His gaze was pleading as he looked at her, and the desperation in his voice disturbed her. There was nothing she wouldn't do for him, but when it came to winning women back, she didn't have much practical experience, not to mention the fact that he didn't belong with that woman. In was on the tip of her tongue to tell him so, but the look of anguish on his face kept her quiet. He really was serious. She was reeling. She needed a moment, but from the way he was looking at her, she didn't have one. She wracked her brain for something to tell him.

"I don't know, Damon, in the movies they use jealousy when they want to win someone back."

"Jealousy?"

"Yeah, you know, that horrible green emotion that makes you want something that someone else has," she said, trying for a joke. He didn't smile.

"I know what jealousy is, Elena. How do I make her jealous?"

"Pretend to be with someone else. Show her you've moved on, and don't want her anymore."

"Does that ever actually work?"

"I don't know. I've never tried it. It works in the movies though."

Damon looked at her thoughtfully. "Katherine never liked you."

"I know."

He made a face. "She thought you were in love with me."

Elena swallowed hard.

"It didn't matter how many times I told her you weren't," he continued. "She never believed me. She hated it whenever I spent time with you."

"She was insecure."

"She was jealous," Damon said to her.

He was looking at her now, his eyes brightening a little; a small smile playing around his lips. Suddenly Elena had a very clear idea of where this was going.

"Oh no," she told him.

"Yes," Damon said decisively. "It's perfect. She'll hate it if she thinks we're together."

"It's crazy," she told him desperately.

"It's genius."

"Someone else would be a better choice."

Anyone else would be a better choice than her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't 'pretend' to be in love with him. What if she faked it a little too well? What if he realized the truth, and then what if that ruined everything?

"It wouldn't work with anyone else," he told her. "She'd never believe it."

"Forget it. It was a stupid idea."

"Come on, Elena."

"No. I won't be a part of this stupid game you play with Stefan."

"I love her."

Elena could do nothing but look at him. He really believed it.

"You know I'd do it for you," he said to her.

He would. He would do it for her. He'd done crazy things for her, and he never asked for a thing in return. Until now. How could she refuse him? It had been her idea after all; her very stupid idea. If she said no, he would want to know why. What valid reason could she give him? None. She had nothing. Her eyes strayed to the empty shot glasses in front of her. They had had an awful lot to drink tonight. Maybe he'd forget this in the morning. Maybe, if she plied him with enough alcohol, he wouldn't remember any of this conversation.

She ordered more shots for them. "Okay," she said to him, hoping the alcohol would work a miracle. "I'll do it."

* * *

><p>Hours later, Elena helped Damon up the stairs to his apartment as best she could. It wasn't easy, but they struggled up one step at a time, all the while Elena cursed the lifts for being out of order. She'd stopped drinking an hour and a half ago, while Damon had kept drinking right up until they left the bar. Now she was feeling no end of guilt for shamelessly trying to get her best friend drunk.<p>

"Keys?" she asked him, when they'd finally reached their destination.

"Pocket," he mumbled.

Elena delicately reached into his jean pocket and fumbled around trying to get her hand on them. It was a testament to just how drunk he was that he didn't give her one of his flirty comments. Instead he just grunted. She finally fished them out, unlocked the door, and then they stumbled through it with his arm around her. When they reached his king size bed, Damon fell onto it, pulling Elena with him.

She landed on top of him with a thud. His eyelids, which had been drooping both from fatigue and the effects of alcohol, now fluttered open. She pushed against him, trying to get up, but his arm was still heavy around her, trapping her against him. His eyes locked with hers as she moved against him, making her breath catch. She was suddenly all too aware of how her feminine curves melded against his hard male body; of how close his lips were to hers.

"Damon."

He released her, and she rolled off him, and onto the other side of the bed.

"Stay," he mumbled. "You're tired."

Elena was about to say no, but lack of sleep, and all those shots were catching up with her. She didn't feel like having to make her way back downstairs and catch a cab back to her place, especially when she was already in a bed that was so comfortable. Still, she should go. She was just about to tell him she was leaving when she realized he was already asleep. She got out of the bed and pulled the covers up and over him.

He stirred slightly. "Katherine," he mumbled, eyes still closed.

That was her cue to leave, Elena thought; her heart squeezing inside her chest. With any luck Damon would forget that woman, and if he didn't forget her, hopefully he would at least forget Elena's stupid suggestion from earlier on this evening. Closing his front door behind her, Elena thought she would have to wait till tomorrow to find out if she was lucky or not.

* * *

><p>Damon closed his eyes against the sun beaming through the window. Why did he feel so damn awful? That's right; he and Elena had spent the better part of last night doing tequila shots. This was Elena's fault, he decided. Sure he'd been the one to suggest they go the bar, but the tequila had been her idea. She'd gone shot for shot with him for a while there, but then she'd been sensible enough to stop. He hadn't. Now he had a blinding headache, and no desire to go to work.<p>

Damon got up, headed straight for his bathroom cabinet and took out pain killers. He had to go to work today. If he didn't, Stefan would get the edge on the highly prized Brewis Beer campaign they'd both been vying for, and he didn't want to give that smug idiot anything more to gloat about. Introducing Katherine to Stefan at his work dinner a month ago had been a big mistake. He swallowed the tablets with a mouthful of water from the tap.

He had a never ending calendar of work functions. Smith and Smith Advertising was one of those annoying companies that liked all their employees to 'bond' on a regular basis. Elijah and Klaus Smith made it mandatory for all their employees to attend monthly dinners, and a yearly working vacation at the Smith brother's home on their private island, "Heaven's Isle". Damon would have left the company ages ago if they weren't the best in the business.

At least they were allowed to take partners on the week long working vacation. He'd already asked Katherine to go with him, but now she was going with Stefan. Damon's lips twisted into an expression of utter disgust. He and Stefan had been hired on the same day, and Klaus and Elijah had always encouraged them to compete over everything, including women. At first it had been fun and light-hearted, but now it was an all out war. Lexie had gone to Stefan. Isobel had gone to him, and the tiebreaker, Katherine, had gone to Damon first, then Stefan.

He never let women matter to him, but there was something about Katherine that had changed that. He still wanted her. He missed her. That had to be love didn't it? He'd never been in love before, but this must be what love felt like. It figured that the first woman he fell in love with would leave him, just like his mother had left his father years ago. His father had fallen apart instead of fighting, though, and Damon wouldn't make the same mistake. He would win Katherine back. Elena would help him with that.

Elena. She was the greatest friend a guy could ever ask for. She was always there for him. They had something special; something that meant more to him than anything else in his life ever had. She knew him better than anyone, and she cared about him anyway. She accepted him completely, called him on his bullshit, and he knew he was lucky to have her in his life. He smiled as he stepped under the hot spray of the shower, remembering their first meeting.

He'd been hassling Billy Grayson for his lunch money at school. After Damon's mother left, his father had fallen apart like some weak, pathetic fool, drinking all the time, and then sleeping with women who would feed him. He left Damon alone to fend for himself, not bothering to stock the fridge or leave money for groceries. The only time Damon ate was when he took food, or money, off the kids at school.

Elena had tried to stop him from doing that on the first day he'd met her. She'd seen him roughing up Billy, and promptly marched up to him and kicked him very hard in the shin. Consequently he'd dropped Billy and turned on her.

"_You'll pay for that," he'd said to her, backing her up against the wall in the empty corridor._

"_Pick on someone your own size," she'd told him defiantly._

"_I'll do what I want."_

"_You're a bully."_

"_Who cares?"_

"_Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?"_

"_My mother's dead," he told her. _

_That wasn't the whole truth, but she may as well have died when she'd left Damon with his father, without even a goodbye. _

"_My mother is dead too, but I don't go around hurting other people."_

"_I wasn't hurting him," Damon said to her. "Well, I wouldn't have hurt him if he'd given me his money."_

"_Why do you need money?" _

"_So I can buy cigarettes," he lied. _

_He hadn't been about to tell some girl that he hadn't eaten in close to twenty-four hours, even if she was pretty. _

"_Gross," she'd said to him. _

_He grabbed her bag. "Now I'll just have to take your money."_

"_I don't have any."_

_He'd gone through her bag, and come out empty handed except for a sandwich._

"_Fine, I'll just take this."_

_He thrust the bag back in her hands. At least he wouldn't starve today. _

"_That's my lunch."_

"_Now it's mine."_

"_Get your own sandwich."_

"_I just did."_

"_I don't have anything else to eat," she'd told him. _

"_Do I look like I care?"_

"_Please," she'd pleaded, as he started walking away. _

To this day he still didn't know why he'd turned around, but he had. He'd seen her lip quiver as she held back the tears. Before he'd thought better of it, he opened the packaging roughly, took out half of the sandwich, and gave it to her; the idea of her being as hungry as he was suddenly making him uncomfortable. For whatever reason, the girl got to him.

"_Thank you," she said, eating her half before he changed his mind and took it back. "I hate being hungry. My stomach rumbles. It's embarrassing. My foster parents don't give me much to eat."_

"_Well, I don't get anything to eat," Damon had told her angrily._

_He couldn't believe he'd just told her that. He'd never told anybody that _

"_That must be awful."_

_It was awful, but he got by, when he didn't have some girl sticking her nose in his business. Her look of concern was almost too much. He didn't want to spend another minute with her. _

"_My foster parents are awful," she'd told him. "When they find my aunt, I can finally leave here."_

_Damon didn't care. He really didn't care to hear her ramble on about her life, her aunt, or her own hunger. _

"_Maybe you can show me round. This is my first day here, and I don't know where my next class is," she'd said tentatively, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink._

_Damon stared at her. Had she not just seen him dangling Billy by the foot? As if he, Big Bad Salvatore as he was known around school, was going to play tour guide to some girl because he gave her half her sandwich back._

"_Maybe," he said to her, "you can get lost."_

_He walked away, kicking a trashcan on the way out. He wasn't going to let some stupid girl ruin his reputation; first interfering in his business, then suggesting he actually help her. He didn't help anyone but himself. _

In the coming weeks, however, Damon found out that that wasn't quite true. When Damon saw Tyler Lockwood trying to sneak his dope into Elena's bag before a bag check, Damon had kicked Tyler's ass, telling himself it was for the hell of it. When Amber Jacobs spread a rumor about Elena cheating on her test, because she'd taken Amber's spot at top of the class, Damon had put a tarantula in Amber locker, and told himself it was for his own amusement. And when he'd found Matt Donovan trying to feel Elena up after school one day, despite her evident dismay, he'd given the guy a bloody nose simply because it had felt good to. Damon had been suspended for that.

After he came back from suspension, Elena had sought him out to tell him that the Department of Human Services had finally tracked down her aunt, and that her aunt had moved to Mystic Falls over the weekend. He had been about to tell her he didn't care, when Elena had put her brown paper bag in his hands.

"_What's this?" he'd asked her._

"_Aunt Jenna gave me money and a packed lunch today," she told him. _

"_I don't want your stupid…"_

She'd walked away before he could finish the sentence. Over the months that followed that exchange, Elena continued to give him her lunches. At some point he stopped denying he wanted them, and she had stopped walking away. The next thing he knew he was going round to Aunt Jenna's every night for dinner, and he and Elena were inseparable.

He still missed Jenna. Elena's aunt had passed away the year after Elena had graduated from high school. First Elena had lost her mother, then her father, and then she'd been thrown into three or more different foster homes before she'd moved in with aunt. When she'd lost Jenna too, she'd almost fallen apart. Losing anyone else would push her over the edge. Consequently she never had serious boyfriends, preferring instead to keep everyone at a distance. Well, everybody except for him.

What they had was solid. Dependable. They were always there for each other. They could always rely on each other, and he trusted her implicitly. If she thought making Katherine jealous would help him get her back, then he was willing to try. The easiest way to do that would be to take Elena on his work holiday in a couple of week's time. Klaus and Elijah were expecting him to bring someone anyway. He'd go see Elena on his lunch break. He couldn't wait to see her reaction when he told her what he had in mind.

* * *

><p>Elena was eating her lunch when Damon turned up.<p>

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd drop by."

"Damon, you're never just in the neighborhood."

"Bonnie said you guys have been quiet lately."

"Things aren't too bad, though Anna hasn't had too many shifts since we hired her."

Elena and her friend Bonnie Bennett owned a second-hand bookstore in the center of Mystic Falls. They had just hired another person because they expected a rush on second-hand textbooks when school went back, but it hadn't started just yet.

"Well her luck is about to change."

"Why?" Elena asked him warily.

"I want you to come to Heaven's Isle with me in a couple of weeks."

"To your yearly work thingy?"

"Five days, six nights on the Smith's Island. Sun, white sand beaches, sunsets-"

"And work dinners, bonding exercises, and Klaus and Elijah Smith."

"So you take the good with the bad," he shrugged.

The Smith Brothers were over the top, and far too passionate about advertising in Elena's opinion. She also disapproved of the way they'd set Damon and Stefan against each other while preaching about work-place cohesiveness. Over the years she'd attended quite a few of Damon's work events with him, but he'd never asked to go on holiday with him. It was normally partners only.

"It's the perfect place to make Katherine jealous."

Elena's heart sank. He'd remembered. She should have realized the second he asked her to go. For a moment she'd though he wanted her to go with him for the pleasure of her company, but instead he wanted to use her to make Katherine jealous. She couldn't even be angry with him since he was just taking her advice. When she'd agreed to help last night, however, she'd imagined them going on a pretend date once or twice, not spending a whole week trying to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.

"I can't just leave for a week. I have responsibilities here at the store."

At that moment, Bonnie joined Damon and Elena in the small kitchenette at the back of the store.

"Anna can take over your shifts for that week," Bonnie told her. "If you want to go on holiday now is the perfect time. You know things will pick up when everyone goes back to school."

"You discussed this with Bonnie?" Elena asked him, starting to feel trapped.

"Damon mentioned it on the way in," Bonnie said, throwing an empty yogurt container in the bin and running her teaspoon under hot water.

Seeing as the two of them had already figured it out, she had no excuse. Damon was frowning at her now, as if not understanding why she wasn't over the moon about the idea.

"You don't want to come?" he asked her.

"You should go, Elena," Bonnie told her. "Anna and I can hold down the fort."

Bonnie was looking at her meaningfully. She probably thought she was doing Elena a favor, since she knew how Elena felt about Damon. Little did Bonnie know, however, that his taking her on holiday was all for someone else's benefit. Both Damon and Bonnie looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. It looked like she had no way out of this.

"Elena?" Damon queried, seeing her completely quiet.

"I can't wait," she told him, forcing a smile.

He looked wholly relieved as he slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, making her feel and appreciate everything she was destined never to have.

"You and me in Heaven, Lena. What could be better?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Very corny."

When Bonnie walked out, Damon started talking about how great their holiday was going to be. She had to stop doing this, Elena thought; she had to stop torturing herself. He just didn't feel that way about her. She'd waited. She'd waited years for him to realize he didn't want to keep all women at a distance; that he didn't want to walk out the moment he felt something for a woman he was seeing. Now that he had finally realized that, however, he still didn't want her. He wanted Katherine. It was Katherine who had turned his whole world upside down. It was Katherine who he'd let himself fall in love with.

Elena wanted Damon in her life; needed him in her life, but the truth was finally sinking in. No matter how she had hoped otherwise, she and Damon would never be more than friends. She had to stop pining after him like some love sick puppy. He was never going to look at her the way she wanted him to, and if she wanted to keep their friendship, it was time to move on. It was time to get over her best friend for good.

* * *

><p>AN: I hope you liked it. Thanks for reading, and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_**Change Is In the Wind**_

"What's going on?" Bonnie asked Elena as they began to close up the store.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been miserable ever since Damon left."

"I haven't had time to be miserable, Bonnie."

There had been a mid-afternoon rush, and the two girls had been run off their feet.

"You look like you've just lost your best friend."

It was an ironic choice of words really.

"Someone dropped their drink in the self-help section too by the way," Bonnie added.

"That's just great," Elena muttered.

The bell above the door jangled as Caroline Forbes walked into the store, her arms full of clothes in plastic bags. Every Friday, Caroline picked up her dry-cleaning from the shop next door, and then dropped in to say hello. Elena, Bonnie and Caroline had met in college and became fast friends when they'd all taken a business class together.

"What's happening?" Caroline asked them.

"Not much," Bonnie replied.

"How's work?" Elena asked.

"Website's gone down again, and I had a man ask for a refund because his date lied about her height on her profile page."

Caroline ran a dating service on the other side of town. Elena was fast learning that things didn't always run smoothly when it came to the business of love.

"Tough day then," Bonnie said.

"You could say that. I wish you two would reconsider letting me put your profiles on line. I could really do with some fresh meat right now."

Elena grimaced at being called fresh meat.

"Sorry, Caroline. Not my style," Elena told her.

"You mean anyone that doesn't have black hair, blue eyes, and a leather jacket isn't your style," Bonnie joked.

"How is Damon?" Caroline asked.

"Fine," Elena told her.

"He's taking Elena away on holiday with him," Bonnie told Caroline.

Caroline's eyes lit up.

"It's not what you think," Elena told them.

"What I think," Caroline said, "is that he can finally see what's been right in front of him all along."

"And that's where you'd be wrong," Elena told her. "Damon wants me to go with him to make Katherine jealous.

"What!"

"That's-"

"It was my idea," Elena told them hastily.

Both of them were looking at her like she'd just lost her mind.

"He's in love with her."

"You're kidding?" Caroline asked.

"I'm not."

"That's it then?" Caroline asked crossly. "You're just going to give up so easily?"

"Give up? I have been waiting years for him to see me as more than a friend, Caroline. I'm tired of waiting for him to notice me."

"When have you ever done anything to make him see you differently?" Bonnie asked.

Never. She'd never tried, but what had been the point in him seeing her as more than a friend when he was hell bent on feeling nothing for every woman he had sex with. Obviously Katherine was the exception to the rule.

Elena sighed, and splayed her hands on the desk in front of her. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm getting over him."

"In that case, you'll let me put your profile up," Caroline said to her.

Elena glared at her.

"You totally should," Caroline said. "How are you going to move on without another man to move on with?"

"She's right," Bonnie said. "If you're serious…"

"I am serious."

Both Bonnie and Caroline looked at her like they didn't believe her. Could she blame them? She'd been in love with Damon for as long as she'd known them.

"Fine," Elena said. "Put it up. Let's see what happens."

"You know what else you need to move on?" Caroline asked, looking Elena up and down.

"Not a make-over."

Making over her clients was Caroline's favorite pastime.

"We don't want to change the way you look," Bonnie assured her.

"Maybe just what you wear," Caroline said.

Elena didn't have to ask them what was wrong with what she wore. When she'd lived with them, they had both told her on more than one occasion that she didn't exactly dress to draw attention from the opposite sex. At the time she hadn't cared because she'd only been interested in one person anyway; one person who she'd never had the courage to tempt.

Now, however, she did want to attract the opposite sex. She wanted to find someone, and move on, and she wanted to do it before her heart broke over him anymore. It had been difficult enough to watch him going from woman to woman without any of them meaning anything, but if she had to watch her best friend falling in love with that woman, she was going to need a love life of her own. Perhaps she should just let her friends help her do this. At least then they'd believe she was serious.

"When do we go shopping?" she asked them.

"You never know," said Caroline, smiling with approval. "We may just shock Damon into seeing you differently after all."

* * *

><p>A little over two weeks later, Elena put the last of her new lingerie and clothes in her suitcase and closed the case, zipping it shut. A moment later she heard Damon knock on the door. Today they would fly to Heaven's Isle, and Elena was taking all of her new outfits for a test run. Caroline had been adamant they would knock any guys socks off, and Elena had to admit she felt good wearing them. She moved her case from her bed to the hall and went to open the door.<p>

It was a good day for flying Damon noted, as he waited on Elena's doorstep; blue skies, minimal wind. He found himself looking forward to the week. Yes, it was a compulsory work event, but Heaven's Isle was beautiful. He couldn't wait for Elena to see it, and he was looking forward to spending the week with her. They always had fun together. He checked his watch, making sure they had plenty of time to get to the airport. The Smith brothers had hired a private plane to fly their employees out, just as they did every year. He was just about to knock again when Elena answered the door.

"Ready to…" his voice trailed off as he took in what she was wearing.

It wasn't like he'd never seen her in a dress or a skirt before. He knew she had a body under the jeans and jackets she always wore, and he wouldn't have been male if he hadn't acknowledged at some point that it was a good one. She was an attractive woman, but normally he didn't dwell on the point. She was his best friend, and it wouldn't have done either of them any good for him to let certain drives get in the way of what they had.

Now, however, Damon didn't seem to have any control over the direction of his thoughts. He'd never seen her body quite so prominently on display before. The skirt she was wearing was short enough to be highly flirtatious, but not indecent. The skin-tight, ruby red top she was wearing didn't just hint at her breasts, it showcased them. And as she invited him into the house, and turned around, the way she walked in her matching heels drew his gaze to her backside, igniting a fire in him that threatened to burn away everything they were to each other.

"New outfit?" he asked her.

His mouth was too dry, and his voice sounded hoarse and unfamiliar. She leaned over to pick up her case, making her skirt ride up. He took the case from her, needing something to do with his hands. This was Elena, he reminded himself.

"Caroline and Bonnie took me shopping to buy some new outfits," she told him.

He'd have to thank them for that later, he thought, before eyeing the suitcase he was holding suspiciously. Did she have more of those outfits in here? God he hoped not.

It wasn't just the outfit, Damon realized then. She was wearing slightly more make-up than usual. Not so much that she looked artificial, but enough to highlight the perfect features on her beautiful face. She was wearing her hair in a high ponytail, exposing the delicate column of her neck, and if he leaned in he could smell the perfume she was wearing.

"Ready?" he asked her, needing to put some space between them.

She nodded. "Let's go to heaven," she said to him.

He wanted to show her heaven alright; heaven between the sheets, in his arms, with his mouth. Stop it, he ordered. Just what the hell was he thinking? Elena was his best friend. He didn't think about her that way. He wasn't supposed to think about her that way. She'd be horrified if she could see the way he was imagining her right now. And he was in love with Katherine. Not Elena, he told his body. Never Elena. You didn't screw around with your best friend. Big mistake.

When they arrived at the airport Damon noticed he wasn't the only male having trouble keeping his eyes off Elena. Men of every age turned to look at her. Some of them were rude enough to stare at her, while others tried to be discreet about it since their wife or partner was with them. Damon gripped the handles of the suitcases he was carrying a little tighter.

After what felt like an eternity, they reached the boarding gate for their flight. They were taking directions for how to get onto the tarmac when Damon observed Katherine and Stefan walking towards them, pushing a trolley piled high with luggage cases. Once Katherine spotted him, Damon slipped his arm around Elena's waist, resting his hand on her hip and pulling her against him. Her eyes were wide with confusion as she looked at him. He nodded his head in the direction of the other couple who were fast approaching.

"Oh," she said softly.

"Stefan. Katherine," Damon acknowledged casually once the four of them stood facing each other.

It seemed like Elena's plan was working already, judging by the way Katherine was looking at Elena. What he hadn't counted on, however, was the way Stefan was looking at his friend. Elena and Stefan had met on several different occasions. In fact Stefan had shown some interest in asking Elena out after the first time he'd met her, but Damon had put him off. At that time he and Stefan could almost have been considered friends. Stefan hadn't mentioned it since then, and he hadn't pursued her either. Then again Stefan had been too busy competing with Damon for women.

"It's good to see you again, Elena," Stefan said, giving her one of his typical smarmy smiles.

Katherine glared at Damon. "Why is she here? It's partners only."

"Elena and I are together now," he told her.

"Since when? You told me she'd never be more than a friend."

"Things change."

Katherine looked at Elena. "So you finally got him to notice you. How clichéd you had to use the whole make-over ploy to get his attention."

Elena hadn't really thought about what she would say to Katherine about her new relationship with Damon. Now that she was on the spot the truth seemed like the best way to go. Damon would never believe it because the idea was so far from his reality, that he would pass it off act part of the act.

"Well, I had to use something," Elena told her, looking up at Damon. "I've been in love with him since high school."

Elena looked so serious that for a moment Damon thought she was telling the truth, until he remembered he'd asked her to play a part in this charade. Of course she wasn't in love with him. She was telling a lie; a very convincing lie.

"I told you she was in love with you. You never believed me," Katherine said accusingly.

"Seems I should have listened to you, Kat."

"I finally found the courage to tell Damon how I feel about him," Elena said, still looking at him.

If Elena could be convincing, then so could he.

"And I realized I felt the same way."

Damon's fingers tightened on her hip ever so slightly, and Elena's breath caught as she realized what he was about to do. He dipped his head and brushed his lips ever so softly against hers. Though the contact was fleeting it didn't lessen the impact any. Her heart slammed against her ribcage, as feelings that were years old, and the sensation of his lips on hers, mixed together and exploded inside her.

Damon had intended the kiss to appear innocent and affectionate, but there was nothing innocent about his thoughts right now. He put the overwhelming desire he was experiencing for his friend down to his earlier imaginings, when he'd seen what she was wearing. He obviously hadn't quite gained control over either his thoughts or his libido. For the second time that day, he reminded himself this was Elena.

"I suppose I should say I'm happy for you," Katherine said to them.

She clearly wasn't happy, and Damon had a brief moment of satisfaction before taking in Stefan's expression. By bringing Elena along as his date, Damon had re-sparked Stefan's interest in her, and now he was looking at Elena as if she were some kind of prize to be won. Damon felt sick. By using Elena to win Katherine back, he'd just insured Stefan would see Elena's affection as another competition.

"It's nice you'll be joining us anyway, Elena," Stefan said.

At that moment they were joined by their work colleague Tim Mackenzie, and his wife Colette, saving Stefan from having his head ripped off. Elena wasn't a game, and Damon had no intention of letting his friend become a conquest of Stefan's. After greetings had been exchanged, the six of them made their way down to the tarmac and boarded the plane. Damon made sure they sat some distance away from Katherine and Stefan.

"That went well," Elena said to him.

"Yes it did."

"Katherine seemed to buy it."

"Well, you were very convincing," he said to her, shoving her carry-on under the chair and looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"We needed her to believe it."

"The whole loving me since high school thing was a nice touch," he said, looking at her properly now.

"Never let it be said I'm not creative."

"The outfit worked too. She thought it was part of some elaborate make-over plan."

Elena laughed. "Well it was part of a make-over plan."

"It was?"

"Caroline and Bonnie thought I should buy some new outfits for all the dates I'm supposedly going to receive through Caroline's dating agency."

"What?"

"Caroline has finally talked me into putting my profile up on her website," she told him.

Damon felt as if he'd been hit in the stomach. It was just so sudden, he thought. She'd had a few boyfriends over the years, and she'd taken her share of lovers. He knew that, even if he tried not to think about it, but she'd never been interested in dating before. Not that he knew of anyway. Now she was just joining Caroline's agency. She'd been saying no to Caroline for ages.

"This is sudden, Elena."

She shrugged. "I realized I don't want to spend the rest of my life alone. I want to share it with someone."

Of course what she was saying was completely reasonable. Somewhere deep down he knew she'd eventually find someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, but this was coming out of nowhere. She hadn't talked to him about it. Normally she talked to him about everything. Something just didn't seem right. Something had triggered this and he wanted to know what.

"When did you realize this?"

"Since I realized the person I'm in love with will never see me the way I want them to."

She couldn't have shocked him more if she'd tried. He turned so that his whole body was facing her. "You're in love? With who? Since when?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm getting over him."

She wasn't going to tell him, he realized. She looked away from him. Damon felt irritation course through him. They told each other everything. Or at least he thought they did.

"You never even mentioned anything," he said to her.

"You've been…preoccupied."

Now he was just plain hurt. Yes, he'd been upset about Katherine. Okay, so he'd been devastated, but he always wanted to know what was happening with his friend. He was there for her. He was always interested. The fact that she thought he was too busy thinking about Katherine…too preoccupied to mention that she'd fallen in love, hurt like hell.

He racked his brain, trying to think of the last conversations he'd had with her. He must have asked her how she was doing at some point, though he was struggling right now to think of a conversation he'd had with her that didn't revolve around Katherine. Okay, so maybe he had been a little self-involved, but he'd been going through something. Obviously, so had she. Yet, here she was, helping him out despite the fact she was hurting over some guy; some jack-ass who he didn't have the satisfaction of punching out for her. And who wouldn't want Elena? Who wouldn't be interested in her? She was too good for most of the guys he knew.

He would make it up to her, he decided. Yes, they were here to make Katherine jealous, and for work, but he would make it up to her. If she wanted to get over this guy, he would make sure she had the best week of her life. He would make sure she was so busy having fun that she wouldn't have time to think about the guy once. And then maybe they could get their friendship back on track, because right now he felt like she was putting some kind of distance between them. She was holding back from him, and he didn't like it one bit.

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><p>AN: I always find it amusing when they make over the pretty girl in movies. How about you?

_Just Friends_ is one of my favorite movies. Damon's feelings about Stefan in this story remind me a little of Chris Brander's feelings about Dusty Dinkleman. Thanks so much for reading, and please review.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Big thanks to aj81writing for sending readers my way. Her fic _Alive and Kicking_, about hot and sweaty gym instructor Damon, has me totally addicted. For those of you who like a fic about friends as much as I do, I am also enjoying _You Found Me_, by asdfghjklb, and _Just the way you_ are by DomOx. I don't get time to search much for fics at the moment, but if you think I'd like a fic please feel free to PM and recommend one to me.

This week has been even crazier than normal, and this is the longest chapter I've written in a while. Please forgive me for any mistakes.

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

_**Welcome to Heaven's Isle**_

The flight to Heaven's Isle, an island located in the Caribbean, took them around five hours. Elena sucked in a breath as she saw the view of the island through the plane window.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Damon asked her.

It looked like paradise, Elena thought. Lush, tropical vegetation covered most of the island, and she could see the white sand beaches Damon had promised her. It was all privately owned by the Smith brothers. The island had been in their family for years according to Damon. Even as she stepped off the plane, Elena thought the sky was bluer than she'd ever seen it in Mystic Falls.

"This holiday is just what you need," Damon said to her, as they made their way over to the long line of jeeps waiting to take them from the landing strip to the Smith's property.

She looked at him questioningly.

"How can you ever be unhappy in surroundings as beautiful as these?" he asked her.

"It is difficult," she said to him.

"It's the perfect place to get over your mystery man."

Elena wondered what he would say, if he knew he was her 'mystery man'.

"You think so, huh?"

Way to go Salvatore, he chided himself, remind her of the guy she's trying to get over. He wanted her to forget the fool, but truthfully Damon was struggling to put the guy's existence out of his mind. She was so rarely interested in anyone that way, that he found himself desperately curious about who had captured her heart. He knew pretty much everyone in Mystic Falls, so he'd been making a list of possibilities in his head for the past few hours.

"You're not going to tell me who he is, are you?"

She looked towards the mountains as their jeep started moving. "Nope."

"Well, I know he's an idiot anyway."

She looked back at him, raising an eyebrow.

"For not realizing how amazing you are."

She smirked.

"Something funny?" he asked her.

"Not really."

Within minutes they had arrived at a large, yellow rendered property that looked more like a hotel than a house. As they pulled up to the front entrance, staff marched out like ants on a mission, going to each jeep and retrieving the baggage of each individual, ticking their names off a list. Elena wondered just how many staff it would take to maintain a property of such size, and look after the seventy or so guests who had been flown in today.

"Welcome to Heaven's Isle," Elijah said to them, as they exited the vehicles. "Your luggage is being taken to your room as I speak, and refreshments are being served out on the terrace. If you follow the path around the back of the property, Klaus is waiting for all of you."

The Smith's island house was so big that it took near ten minutes to reach the terrace. Elena didn't mind. The sun was warm, and the scenery was stunning. Once they reached their destination, waiting staff began circulating with drinks and canapés.

"Good afternoon everybody. I hope you enjoyed the flight," Klaus said to them when he came into view.

"What is this?" Elena asked, as she took a glass off one of the waiters.

The color of the drink was a strange combination of pink and blue.

"A Heaven Sunset," Damon told her.

Elena took a sip of the cocktail. It was just one more thing that could be called outstanding on this little piece of paradise, she thought. The combination of sweet and spicy burned all the way down to her stomach in the most delicious way, warming her entire body and making her tingle.

"Like it?" Damon asked her.

"The secret is the Romalee fruit found exclusively on Heaven's Isle," Elijah told her, coming to stand next to them.

"It's incredible," Elena said to him.

"Yes, it's meant to be some kind of aphrodisiac," Elijah said.

Elena wasn't even aware she'd let her alarm show until she heard Damon and Elijah chuckling.

"No need to look so worried. It's no more potent than say, oysters or chocolate. Am I to believe the two of you have made the jump from friends to lovers?" Elijah asked them.

Damon's eyes locked with hers at the word lovers, making her as warm and tingly as her drink had a moment ago. It wasn't just Katherine they were lying to, Elena realized. It was Damon's bosses, and all of his colleagues. Most of them seemed like nice people. And if she wasn't careful, she might end up believing it herself when Damon looked at her like that.

"It's true," Damon told him, his eyes never leaving hers.

The rather personal question was of little surprise. Klaus and Elijah treated their employees like family, and made an effort to know each of them, and their partners. Moreover, the week away was meant to be partners only, not for friends, and each time she had been introduced to Elijah, she had been introduced as Damon's friend.

"Well, I daresay it's time," Elijah said to them. "It's obvious you two belong to each other."

Elena smiled politely, and wondered what Damon made of that sentiment. If only he had drawn the same conclusion at some point over the past thirteen years or so. Elena remembered when the realization she was in love with him had hit her as painfully as a pile of bricks being dropped on her head. It was summer break, she was seventeen and she and Damon had accompanied her Aunt Jenna to Cape Macintyre, where Jenna's friends owned a holiday house.

The two of them had spent the better part of the summer diving off the cliffs together, swimming and sunbaking. She still remembered the smell of sunscreen; the sound of the waves breaking against the cliffs, and the way burgers tasted at _Fast Jack's_ – the local diner. But most of all she remembered how over the course of the summer she started to notice things about her friend that she hadn't noticed before.

Damon had always been far too handsome for his own good, but suddenly she couldn't stop noticing just how nice his smile was, and how many muscles he'd been hiding underneath his shirts. Her friend had grown into a man right before her eyes. She'd barely been able to keep from staring every time he'd stripped down to go swimming. Then there was the way he seemed so much more confident, and how one look from him could make her feel all giddy.

Every other woman at Cape Macintyre noticed him too. Before she knew it, Damon had all the girls in town wanting his attention, but like the loyal friend he was, he never left her side. They spent every day together, and the summer passed by in the blink of an eye. All too soon it was time for the Summer Breeze Dance, the biggest event of the season at the Cape.

One week before the dance they were in Fast Jack's when the subject of the dance came up.

"_So," he said to her, leaning back in the booth, "Summer Breeze is next week."_

_Elena didn't need him to remind her. She'd been looking forward to the dance for the last two months. "I know. I can't believe how quick the summer's gone."_

"_Me neither. I haven't had this much fun in…well, never," he said to her, grinning._

"_It's been pretty amazing," she agreed._

"_I'm glad I came. Mystic Falls would have blown without you."_

"_Well, I'm glad your dad let you come."_

"_Like he was even sober enough to understand what I was asking," Damon said, shaking his head in disgust._

"_Well, I'm glad you came anyway."_

"_Me too." They looked at each other for a moment, before he spoke again. "So, the dance…"_

"_The dance," she repeated._

_He looked her right in the eye. "There's this really great girl I want to ask, but I'm kind of scared she'll say no." _

_Elena's heart started pounding and she could scarcely breathe. Damon never seemed scared of anything. Didn't he know that no-one in their right mind would say no to him? Every girl in town wanted to be his date. Who could he possibly be so nervous about asking? He had to mean her. Had he started seeing her differently too? Butterflies beat their wings in her stomach. He wanted to go to the dance with her. The idea filled her with so much happiness that she couldn't keep from smiling at him._

"_Whoever she is, I'm sure she'll say yes," she told him. _

"_You think so?" he asked, smiling back at her._

"_Definitely."_

_Elena waited for a beat, but when he said nothing more, just popped a fry in his mouth, she decided to push for more information. "When are you going to ask her?"_

"_Tomorrow," he told her. "She works at the Sea Shack every Saturday." _

"_Joanna Kelly?" Elena asked, feeling sick as she thought of the busty blonde who had been popping her gum in Damon's direction all summer long. _

"_Yeah," he said with a dopey smile on his face. Then he turned serious. "I didn't ask. Who are you going with?"_

"_I…I haven't decided yet."_

_She'd spent all of her days here with Damon. All of the boys their age thought she was taken, and Elena had never given them any reason to think any different, because she'd been too busy crushing on her best friend. How had she not realized until now that the friendly feelings she had always had towards him had suddenly blown out into something far more? It had obviously never occurred to him that they should go together, and why should it? They were friends. She wasn't meant to want him to take her to the dance. _

"_There has to be someone you want to go with," he said to her._

_She shrugged, looking across the room and giving the name of the first guy she saw. "Maybe Tommy."_

_She had no interest in the waiter at Fast Jack's, but she couldn't think of anyone else, and she definitely needed to be thinking of someone other than her friend. Tommy wasn't too bad, Elena decided. His dark blond hair was a tad too long, but he had nice green eyes, and a nice smile, and he always made a point of coming over and speaking to her whenever she ate there. _

"_I'm sure he'll ask you," Damon reassured her. _

"_I hope so." _

_Tommy did ask her, but she had no idea if that was because word got out that Damon was taking Joanna to the dance, and Tommy wanted to take her, or whether Damon had convinced Tommy that he wanted to take Elena. It was exactly the type of thing Damon would do for her. The evening of the dance came soon enough, and Jenna, who had decided to stay home due to a headache, gave them a curfew of one am. _

_The four of them walked to the dance together, like they were doubling, and Elena tried to convince herself that double dating with Damon would be fun. All she had to do was get over these stupid feelings she was having for him. The whole town was lit up like a Christmas tree; and there were rides, and games, and a band playing on a stage made of straw. The carnival like atmosphere would have been enjoyable if she wasn't wishing she was there as Damon's date. _

_She had to stop thinking of him that way, she told herself. She had to try and forget the way she felt. Tommy danced pretty well, but Elena found her attention being drawn to where Damon was dancing with Joanna. They both looked like they were having a good time. Joanna was laughing like a hyena at something Damon said. Finally they swapped partners, so Joanna danced with Tommy and Damon danced with her. The band switched from a fast song to a slow song, and Damon put his arms around her, making her heart beat faster._

"_Having fun?" he asked her._

"_Tons," she lied. _

"_Tommy treating you right?"_

"_Drop the big brother act, Damon."_

"_I'd make a good big brother, don't you think?"_

"_You can be pretty annoying," she teased._

"_I'm going to leave the dance for a while," he told her. "Will you be alright with Tommy?"_

"_Where are you going?" _

"_Joanna's parents are helping clean up after the dance. They won't leave here for a while."_

"_You're not coming back with me?" she asked him abruptly._

_He frowned at her. "I'll be home by one," he told her. _

_Joanna wasn't the first girl Damon had been with, but this felt different. This felt like her heart was breaking. She wasn't meant to feel like this. She didn't want to feel like this. Why couldn't she go back to seeing him as the friend he'd been before they went away together? _

"_That's okay then," she said to him, as if that had been what she was worried about. _

"_You'll be alright?" he asked her. _

_She nodded. "I wanted some time alone with Tommy anyway."_

_Damon let her go as Joanna launched herself at him, pushing her breasts against his chest in a way that left Elena feeling completely inadequate about her own breasts. "Ready to go?" Joanna asked him._

"_Have a good time," Elena said, trying not to choke on the words. _

_Have a good time? Couldn't she have picked anything better to say?_

"_We will," Joanna said, with a giggle. _

_Elena watched the two of them leave together, before heading to the bathroom. She splashed some water on her face. It didn't matter how it had happened, or when exactly over the summer it had become more than some small school girl crush, but she wasn't just dealing with a crush anymore. She was in love with him. The sudden realization wrenched a sob from her. This was a disaster, Elena thought; no doubt about it. _

_When she walked out of the bathroom, she feigned a headache and asked Tommy to walk her home. Fortunately, Jenna had already gone to bed, saving Elena from having to answer any questions about the dance. Elena got ready for bed but didn't bother trying to sleep. Instead she wrote in her journal. She was still writing when she heard Damon come through the front door five minutes before one. She hoped he would go straight to bed, but he must have seen her light on because he knocked on the door._

"_Come in."_

"_Hey," he said to her, stepping into her room. _

_She took in his messy hair, the lipstick on the side of his face, and the missed button on his shirt, and felt a fresh wave of pain engulf her. _

"_Just checking you got in okay."_

"_Thanks," she said to him, looking back down at her journal._

"_How was the rest of the dance?"_

"_Really good," she lied without looking up._

"_Okay, well I'm off to bed."_

"_Goodnight," she said stiffly._

_He was quiet for a moment, "Goodnight Elena."_

_The next day they left Cape Macintyre. _

"_You're quiet today," he said to her when they stopped at the store to buy snacks for the trip home. "Everything okay?"_

"_I'm just sad we're going home."_

"_Is that all?"_

"_Uh-huh."_

"_Are you planning on keeping in touch with Tommy?" he asked her._

_She shook her head. "Will you be keeping in touch with Joanna?" _

"_Nope." _

"_You didn't have a good time?" Elena asked him as casually as she could._

"_I had a great time."_

_It was the last thing she wanted to hear. "She doesn't want to see you again?" she managed to get out._

"_No, that's not it."_

"_Then-"_

"_I'm walking away."_

"_Why? If you had a good time-"_

"_And then what? I start to care about her, and then she's the one walking away from me."_

_She looked at him properly for the first time all morning. "This is about your mom isn't it?" _

"_She just walked away, Elena; from Dad and me as if we meant nothing to her. As if I didn't matter at all."_

_She put her hand on his arm, and gently squeezed. She struggled to know what she should say whenever he mentioned his mother, and that was because Elena didn't understand. She couldn't fathom how a mother could just walk out like that. _

"_I don't understand why she did that, but you can't live your life cutting everyone loose before they cut you loose, Damon. That's just crazy. I mean, what about us?"_

"_What about us?"_

"_You care about me, don't you? You're not cutting me loose."_

"_Yes, but you and I are different, Elena." _

"_Why is that?"_

"_You're my best friend, not my girlfriend, and friends don't walk away from each other."_

Sometimes Elena had wondered whether maybe friends should walk away from each other. If she had walked away from her friendship with Damon, however, would that have saved her pain, or caused her more pain? She had lost so many people from her life that having someone who was always there for her; someone who she could trust, and who cared about her unconditionally had seemed worth the heartache.

Over the years she had only grown closer to him. She had tried to get over the way she felt about him. She'd dated on and off, but no-one had ever come close to making her feel the way he did. She had consoled herself frequently by telling herself she always took first place in his life, and that his hang-ups about women and his fear of being abandoned and rejected were keeping them apart. When Katherine had come along, however, she had realized that that wasn't true, because he had hurdled over his hang-ups fast enough for her. Now Elena could not sit idly by and watch him give that woman the relationship that she herself had wanted from him for so long. She had a new determination to fall in love with someone else. She would move on; she would get over him. She had to for her own sanity, and for the sake of their friendship.

A large gong sounded somewhere, and she was drawn back to the present as Klaus addressed them all.

"Welcome, employees of Smith and Smith Advertising, and welcome partners. I hope the flight was comfortable. Tomorrow we'll start the activities, but tonight is for relaxation and rest. You'll need it."

The crowd laughed politely, but Elena wasn't sure if he was joking or not.

"Pre-dinner cocktails will be served at six. Please do not be late."

Once everyone had finished their drinks, they were shown to their rooms. The room she was to share with Damon was big for a bedroom. The walls had been painted the same color as the water they had flown over to get here. Double glass doors led out onto a small balcony, and inside the room there was a king size bed, a wardrobe and dresser to pack their clothes away. There was also a couch, but Elena noted there was not much else. She supposed the Smith brothers wished their guests to socialize, rather than hide away. A door led to an adjoining bathroom to be shared with the room next door.

Elena put her suitcase on the bed, opened it, and began taking her clothes out. She had packed away several dresses for some of the events Damon had warned her about, and she wanted to hang them up sooner rather than later.

"So," he said to her. "I'll take the couch, and you can take the bed. Unless you want to share."

The moment Damon said it he wanted to take it back. Elena looked up from the case she was unpacking, and as her eyes met his Damon couldn't stop imagining them sharing a bed together, and not one of those images involved either of them actually sleeping. He sat down on the couch quickly, not wanting her to notice the effect the idea was having on him. At the rate he was declining into madness he would be attacking his friend in her sleep.

Elena was shocked when she saw a flash of heat in Damon's blue eyes. She looked back at her suitcase, and kept taking out clothes, but it was too late, need swept through her so fast it left her shaking. Surely she had imagined that. Surely that hadn't been awareness she'd seen. She looked at him again, but whatever she had seen, if she had seen anything at all, was gone.

Disappointment coursed through her. She had to get a hold of herself. Now she was imagining he wanted her. Of course he didn't. In all the years she'd known him, he'd never looked at her the way a man looks at a woman he desires. Best they didn't share a bed, or she might maul him in his sleep. Was she going to be able to get through this week without giving away the only secret she'd ever kept from him?

"Probably best you sleep on the couch," she told him. "I've been told I talk in my sleep."

He nodded. "We still have a couple of hours before dinner. Do you want to take a walk?"

"I'm kind of tired. I might try and get some sleep."

"Okay. I need some air. I'll be back before six, so we can go to dinner together."

She nodded, smiled, and waited for him to leave. When he shut the door behind him, she sighed with relief. She already felt exhausted trying to hold onto the reigns of what she felt for him, and she still had an entire week to get through; an entire week of putting on a show for Katherine. Once she finished unpacking, she lay down on the bed, hoping to sleep, but two questions kept playing on her mind. Would she ever get over him? Could anyone ever actually compare to him? She had to believe they would, or she was in serious trouble.

As Damon walked along the beach he wondered what the hell was wrong with him. For some reason he couldn't stop seeing his friend differently today. The best he could do is hope it was some momentary madness that he would get over. Quickly. He never wanted to complicate what they had with sex. Sleeping with her would blur the lines of their friendship, and he couldn't risk that.

"Damon."

If she hadn't said his name, he would have walked right by Katherine, who was sitting on the sand in a black bikini by herself.

"Where's Stefan?" he asked her, dropping down beside her.

"Recovering," she said to him. "You'll be happy to know he doesn't have your stamina."

"That's too bad. For you."

"Don't sound so pleased."

Damon smiled, but said nothing.

"Where's Elena?" she asked him.

"Sleeping."

"Shouldn't she be out enjoying a walk with you? You two usually don't leave each other's sight."

"We don't do everything together."

Katherine made a noise, signaling her disagreement with that statement. "I'm surprised she let you out of the room."

"Why?"

"She's been in love with you for how many years?"

After Elena had said what she had earlier today, he could hardly go ahead and dispute it now, but Katherine didn't know shit. She'd always gone on about Elena being in love with him, and how he had been blind to it. Damon had denied it every time. Sure Elena was in love with someone, but it wasn't him. Katherine had been convinced though, and she wasn't the only girlfriend he'd had who'd thought the same. He would know though, wouldn't he? He would know if Elena Gilbert was in love with him.

"So?" he said to her.

"So, you're sitting here on Heaven's Isle with your ex-girlfriend. I wonder what she would make of that."

"I wonder what Stefan would make of you sitting here with me," he said to her.

A dark shadow suddenly loomed over them both, stopping her from responding.

"I've been looking for you," Stefan said to Katherine.

"I've been enjoying the view here with Damon."

Stefan gave Damon a dirty look. "Where's Elena?"

"Back at the house."

"That's too bad," Stefan said to him, his smile unpleasant, and his eyes cold. "Tell her to save a dance for me later."

"You can ask her yourself," Damon told him, his eyes equally cold. "I know what she'll say."

Dinner and dancing on the first night on the island had been a tradition for as long as Damon had been coming to Heaven's Isle. He would have to warn Elena of Stefan's intentions. He'd told her everything about Stefan and their competition anyway, but Stefan was going to try and get his hands on her, just to piss Damon off.

"You'll save a dance for me, won't you Damon?" Katherine asked him.

"Of course," Damon told her.

"I'm sure we can swap partners for at least one dance," Stefan said to him.

This was going to be even trickier than he thought. If he pursued Katherine, then he left Elena vulnerable to Stefan's attentions.

"Katherine," Stefan said. "Take a walk with me."

Katherine huffed out a breath, but she stood up anyway. She turned to Damon, and smiled seductively. "I'll look forward to the dance you promised me."

"What were you doing with him?" Stefan asked her angrily, as they walked away.

"Careful, Stefan, you're beginning to sound like a jealous old woman."

Damon smirked. It seemed all was not well in paradise. It wouldn't be long before they fell apart. Stefan would blow it sooner rather than later, and Damon could swoop in and claim the prize. Not that he was thinking of Katherine as a prize. He loved her; he was sure of it. He walked back to the room, hoping Elena would be awake now. She was getting dressed when he entered the room.

"You're back," she said, smiling when she saw him. "Zip me up."

She turned around in the black cocktail dress she was wearing, exposing her neck, and partly naked back. This is ridiculous, Damon thought, when he felt the urge to put his hands on her body, and leave a kiss in the crook of her neck. Shouldn't he be thinking about Katherine?

"Did you sleep?" he asked her.

"I tried. I ended up reading a book instead." She turned around when he finished. "Thanks. How was your walk?"

"I ran into Katherine," he told her, trying not to admire the way the dress fitted her like a second skin. "I think our plan is working."

"Oh?" she said to him, walking into the bathroom. "That's great."

"Well, it was a great plan."

Elena looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. "How could you be so stupid?" she asked her reflection.

If the plan worked, and it sounded like it was indeed working, what would happen when Katherine decided she wanted Damon back? Where was she going to stay if they couldn't keep their hands off each other? Damon would never leave her high and dry, but she hadn't thought any of this through. Would she be forced to fake some kind of break-up with him?

Then there was the fact that Katherine didn't like her. Katherine saw her as a threat, and coming along this week, and playacting Damon's girlfriend wasn't going to help her cause with Katherine. Would Katherine try and stop Damon from spending time with her? Would she see less of her friend? Would he decide to marry the woman? They were changing, Elena thought. They were changing far too quickly.

Her friendship with Damon had reached some kind of turning point. Damon had fallen in love for the first time, and she had decided she was going to start dating seriously, and looking for someone to share her life with. Her friendship with Damon had been her rock for so long, that now that it was shifting into something else, she felt unsteady and uncertain, and not quite sure of anything at all.

She finished freshening up her make-up and walked out of the bathroom. She looked away when she saw Damon taking his tee-shirt off, not wanting to feel the pangs of desire that would remain unsated. She searched through the wardrobe for her purse, and when she found it and turned back around, he was buttoning up his shirt. He looked at her, inclining his head and studying her intently for a moment.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"I don't know. You look sad."

"I was hoping for nice."

His eyes softened a little. "You look nice too, but something's up."

He always saw through her so easily.

"Are you ready?" she asked him.

She was holding out on him again, Damon realized. He could see it in her face. Something was wrong, and she didn't want to tell him what it was. What was the hell was wrong with both of them? He was having certain…impulses around her, and she was keeping things from him. Why wouldn't she tell him what was wrong? Was she thinking about her mystery man again?

"You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"

"Who?"

"The guy you're in love with."

"You caught me," Elena said to him.

This guy had an even bigger hold on her than Damon had originally thought, and maybe he'd taken the wrong approach when it came to helping her deal with him. She needed to forget the guy, sure, but maybe she needed to talk about him first. Isn't that what women wanted? To talk about everything? Elena had told him a good friend can see when their friend was hurting, and Elena definitely wasn't herself at the moment. Tonight he would make it his business to uncover the identity of her Mr X; convince her the guy was an idiot, and then he could give her a shoulder to cry on, and push her to forget him altogether. Add that to furthering his advances on Katherine, and keeping Elena out of Stefan's evil clutches, and it was going to be a busy night.

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><p>AN: Thank you for every story alert, favorite, and review. You all keep me making time to keep writing this even when it feels impossible at times. Thanks for reading, and please review.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_**We're okay, aren't we?**_

Maybe dinner and dancing wouldn't be so bad, Elena tried to tell herself as Damon held the bedroom door open for her. If she thought of this evening as dinner and dancing with her friend, she wouldn't be so focused on the fact that she was here helping the man she loved get his ex-girlfriend back. Tonight the show really started, and the chances of giving away how she felt about him, after years of keeping it a secret, were high enough to make her a little anxious.

"Stefan will want to dance with you tonight," Damon told her, as they made their way down the stairs to the large dining room.

"Why?"

"Because you're here with me."

Elena stopped walking and looked at him. "Because of this stupid game the two of you insist on playing, right?"

"That would be the main reason."

"Because there couldn't be any other reason," Elena muttered under her breath. "Because he couldn't just dance with me because he wanted to dance with me."

While Damon was more than likely right in this instance, it would probably never occur to him that a man might just want to dance with her because he liked her.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. When are you going the stop?"

"Stop what?"

"This game. This stupid, idiotic, and completely outrageous game."

"It's over. I'm done. I'm out." Pause. "Once I get Katherine back."

"Sure," she said, and kept walking.

"I will," he said to her, keeping up with her.

She shook her head. "Because you're in love, right?"

"You couldn't be more surprised than I am."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"And once I get her back, I won't be interested in playing anymore. I won't need to."

"Great."

"You know," he said to her. "It's kind of cool we're in love at the same time. You know what I'm going through."

Cool was not the word she would use to describe the situation; not when she was in love with him, and he was in love with someone else.

"Yeah, well I'm trying to get over it."

"Did he hurt you?" Damon asked; his voice suddenly full of concern. "Because I'll-"

"You'll what? Kick his ass?" she asked, smiling.

The idea of him kicking his own ass made quite an amusing picture.

"This isn't high school, Damon."

"I know that, but no-one hurts you and gets away with it."

"It's not like he did it intentionally. He doesn't even know."

"You're making excuses for him."

Elena hoped Damon would drop the subject when they entered the dining room. Music filtered in from the jazz band playing in the ballroom. The ballroom and dining room were separated by several sets of double doors that were all currently open. It looked like most of the employees of Smith and Smith advertising were downstairs already, milling around, and drinking the pre-dinner drinks that were being served. Damon put his hand on the small of her back as they walked up to the bar, and ordered drinks. When Damon took one of the three seats at the bar, instead of making a move to mingle, she was surprised. Damon motioned for her to join him.

"Is it Tim Peterman?" he asked her.

"What?"

"Your mystery guy? Is it Tim Peterman?"

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. He's an alright looking guy."

"If you like brawn and no brains."

"That's not a no, Elena."

She sighed, before answering him. "No, it's not Tim Peterman."

"Is it Michael Mackenzie?"

"No."

"I know," he said to her, leaning forward and clicking his fingers, trying to think of a name. "It's Damien Price isn't it?"

"The balding life insurance salesman who visits the shop every Thursday? No, Damon, and seriously, what does that say about my taste?"

"You were with Kyle Marsden for ages, and he was completely bald."

"Well he had other…qualities that compensated for that."

"Like what?"

"You don't want to know."

He made a face. "You're right. I don't want to know."

She laughed. "Are we finished?"

"Not even close. Is it Daniel Wheaton?"

"I thought you wanted me to get over him."

"I think you'll have better luck getting over him if you tell me who he is."

She shook her head, and rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to give you his name, so stop."

"I think you need to talk about him, Elena."

She sipped her drink. "Well, I don't."

"Why won't you just tell me who he is?" he asked her, frustration creeping into his voice.

"Why won't you just drop it?" she asked back.

"Because this is big for you," he said to her.

He didn't need to say anything else. She could feel guilt edging in, bit by bit, making her feel awful. Normally they shared everything. If she was excited over something, then he was too. If she was disappointed about something, then he was disappointed too. Under normal circumstances, she would have told him everything about a man she was interested in, but these weren't normal circumstances.

She should never have told him she was in love with someone. She had gone this long without saying anything, but today it had just felt right to tell him. Now he wasn't going to let it go without a fight and she was already regretting it. She couldn't share this with him without changing everything between them. Their friendship was already being turned on its head at the moment, and the last thing she wanted to do was put any further strain on their relationship. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he might say, how he might feel if he knew, and the idea of losing him scared her more than anything in this world.

"You have to talk to someone about him, Elena."

"I have talked to someone about him."

The answer sprung out before she could stop it, and the look of hurt on his face only made her feel worse.

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Does Bonnie know?" he asked her. "Does Caroline know?"

She didn't want to lie to him. "It doesn't matter."

"They both know, don't they?"

"Damon-"

"Now I'm hurt."

"They guessed," she told him softly. "I didn't tell them."

"So if I guess you'll tell me?" Damon asked her with some exasperation.

She sighed. She couldn't very well say no. Besides, he would never guess.

"Yes, I'll tell you."

He nodded, and then continued. "Is it James Prentice?"

"Okay, stop."

"You just said-"

"You've had enough guesses for one night," she told him.

He was about to argue with her when they spotted Stefan and Katherine walking towards them.

"We're not done yet," Damon shot at her before they were interrupted.

It was even worse than he'd imagined, Damon thought. Since when did she tell things to Bonnie and Caroline, and not him? And Bonnie and Caroline had guessed? How come they'd been able to pick the guy, but he hadn't? He thought he knew Elena better than anyone. Even though he had been preoccupied with Katherine, he didn't know how he could have missed something so big in his friend's life.

"You look nice tonight, Elena," Stefan said to Elena, jolting Damon out of his thoughts.

"Thank you," Elena said quietly.

"I hope Damon won't mind if I steal a dance with you tonight."

Elena had been about to say no outright. She didn't want to be drawn into their game in any way at all. She didn't want Stefan to show her attention just because she was with Damon, but then she saw the way Katherine was looking at Damon, and she remembered why Damon had brought her along. She was here to help him win Katherine back, and if she danced with Stefan, then Damon would be free to dance with Katherine.

"I'd like that," she told him, feeling Damon tense beside her immediately.

The smile Stefan gave Damon; and Damon's answering scowl made her want to hit both of them over the head.

Katherine leaned forward and toyed with one of the buttons on Damon's shirt. "I guess that leaves us free to dance."

"I guess it does," he said to her, with a sexy smile that Elena had never been on the receiving end of.

The moment Katherine and Stefan were drawn into a conversation with another couple, however, Damon's scowl returned. He was angry with her, but it wasn't like she could stay out of their game now anyway. Refusing Stefan would only encourage him to try harder, and she didn't want to have to spend the whole week running away from him, or fobbing off his advances. It would be polite to dance once or twice with him. She could still make it clear that she only saw him as Damon's work colleague, all the while providing Damon with some much needed time with Katherine. Damon should be thanking her for that.

"What the hell, Elena?" he demanded angrily after Katherine and Stefan walked away.

"Dancing with Stefan will give you the time you need with Katherine."

"You're not supposed to be bait. I don't want you getting involved in this."

She shook her head in disbelief. "I became part of this the moment I agreed to come along this week, Damon."

"I didn't think this through."

"This is the opportunity you need to win Katherine over, just like we planned. It's perfect actually. While Stefan has his eye on me, you're getting closer to Katherine. Isn't that what you want?"

"I don't want Stefan to think he's winning by getting to you. He will do everything he can to try and 'win you away from me'."

Elena felt the anger building inside her. "You think I don't know that? I know he's only interested in provoking you. Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"No. Of course not. It's just that-"

"It's just that you can't bear the thought of Stefan thinking he's winning," she finished for him. "You're both ridiculous."

At that moment Elijah announced that dinner was about to be served, and so they sat down with everyone else at the long dining table. Damon knew he was in trouble when Elena turned to talk to the person on the other side of her to carry out a conversation. He couldn't blame for being angry at him. Yes it was true that he didn't want Stefan to think Elena was falling for his charms. Yes his male pride hated the idea of Stefan thinking he was winning anything, but more than anything Damon just hated the thought of Stefan touching her at all.

By the time dinner was finished she'd barely spoken more that a handful of words to him. When the music began to play, people drifted onto the dance floor. Eventually the person Elena had been talking to for most the evening left with her companion and Damon stood up. When Elena looked at him, he held out his arm.

"Come on," he said to her, inclining his head towards the dance floor.

She looked like she might refuse him for a moment, but then she accepted his arm and they walked onto the dance floor together. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, and looked up at him. As his eyes locked with hers, he felt the desperate need to reassure himself that everything was okay between them.

"We're okay, aren't we?" he asked her.

Elena nodded when she saw how worried he looked. "Apart from the fact you're an idiot at times."

"Are you sure?"

"That you're an idiot?" she asked him with a smile, teasing him.

He smiled back at her; a smile she knew so well. It was one of familiarity and tenderness, and it got to her every time. On the odd occasion when one of Damon's ex-girlfriends cried on her shoulder after a break-up, they called Damon heartless, or cold, or unfeeling, but Elena knew he was none of those things. He was foolish, and at times a complete ass, but he had loads and loads of heart.

"That we're okay," he said softly.

"We're fine," she said to him, trying to reassure him despite the fact that she was having the same concerns he was.

"It feels like things are changing. You're keeping things from me. Things you tell Caroline and Bonnie, but not me."

"I told you-"

"Bonnie and Caroline guessed. I know, but we've always told each other everything. Haven't we?"

Everything except for one huge secret she'd been keeping from him for a very long time. "Change is a natural part of life," she told him.

"I'm well aware of that. I just don't see why _we_ can't stay the same."

"Because things are different now. You're in love-"

"So?" he asked completely confused.

Damon couldn't fathom how that had anything to do with them.

"So, the woman you're in love with doesn't like me at all. You said yourself she never liked you spending time with me, and now that she thinks we're together she'll hate me even more."

Damon's expression changed from perplexed to angry as she trailed off.

"Is that what you think? That I'm going to let her come between us?"

She looked away from him. After all they'd been through, how could she think that?

"Are you planning on letting the next guy you date come between us?" he asked her, pointedly.

She looked back at him. "It's not as simple as that, Damon. You'll be spending more time with Katherine, and I'll be married one day, with children. We won't always be able to spend so much time together. There will be other priorities in our lives," she told him.

No, Damon thought, no matter what happened in their lives, they would never mean any less to each other. It was always meant to be the two of them together. But it didn't sound like Elena thought the same way he did. He couldn't imagine them being any different with each other, even when they were both involved in relationships, but she did. He didn't know how to respond to that.

He'd always pictured them sharing every moment that mattered; every moment that was important. Until today, when she had sprung the whole dating agency thing on him, he'd never really thought about what it would mean when she finally settled down. Eventually, however, she would meet a man she wanted to marry; someone else she would share the moments with in her life. She would let someone else in, and then she wouldn't need him anymore. The thought was like an arrow piercing his heart. She laid her head against his chest as they danced, and he pulled her closer. He would be lost without their friendship. He would be lost without _her_.

Damon was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't even realize Katherine and Stefan were dancing beside them.

"May I have this dance, Elena?" Stefan asked once the song they were dancing to finished.

Damon stopped still, about to tell Stefan to piss off in not so nice terms, but then Elena looked up at him.

"You don't mind do you, Damon?"

Damon knew it wasn't really a question after their earlier conversation. She expected him to dance with Katherine, and she was giving him the chance to do so. He didn't really feel like dancing with Katherine right now though; not after Elena had just told him that they were going to grow apart. At least that was what is sounded like she was suggesting. He didn't want to let her go. He needed to talk to her about this, but she was already moving away from him.

Resigned to the fact that Elena was going to dance with Stefan whether he wanted her to or not, he turned to Katherine.

"Katherine, would you like to dance?" he asked, seeing the other woman arch one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him.

Katherine smiled and gracefully moved into his arms, and Damon had the thought that she didn't fit him anywhere near as well as Elena did, before he dismissed it as stupid. He looked over to where Elena was dancing with Stefan, before Katherine put her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her. He knew he should enjoy dancing with Katherine. His plan was to pull out all the stops, but he couldn't shake off Elena's words, and the subsequent feeling of dread washing over him.

Elena watched Damon dancing with Katherine. Katherine's hand was on his cheek, as he looked at the other woman. Damon was right; their plan did seem to be working. Elena tried to remind herself that this was a good thing. This was what Damon wanted, and if he wanted it, then she wanted it, because his happiness was as important to her as her own.

"Damon is very lucky to have a friend like you," Stefan told her, seeing her watching the other couple.

She looked at him. "Why is that?"

"It's obvious you're in love with him," Stefan said to her knowingly.

"Yes, I've loved him since high school," she said to him, repeating what she'd already said earlier that day.

"I believe you," he said to her.

Elena tried to relax, but she couldn't. She actually felt quite tense dancing with Damon's rival.

"What I don't believe," Stefan added, "is that he feels the same way."

Despite the fact she knew his words to be true, they still hurt. Stefan was wearing a sympathetic look which made her feel even more pathetic.

"Why would you say that?" she asked him.

"Damon and I were on better terms some time ago. I asked him about you once. He told me you were a friend, and that the two of you would never be more than friends."

"Things change," she said to him.

Isn't that what she had just been telling Damon? Things changed. Not the way Damon felt about her, however.

"They do. But I believed Damon when he told me he would never see you that way."

"You can believe what you want," she told him. "I know how Damon feels about me."

She did know how Damon felt about her, and Stefan was right. They would never be more than friends.

"You're a very loyal person, aren't you? Tell me the truth; did he bring you along to distract me, because it's working."

She stared at him. This was just part of the game, she told herself. He was using her to get to Damon.

"I can see I've surprised you," he said to her. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

"Tell me what?"

"That I wanted to ask you out when I first met you."

"Then why didn't you?" she asked him.

"Damon didn't want me to. He said it would be messy if we got involved and it didn't work out."

Elena looked across the floor to where Damon and Katherine were now dancing. Damon was looking back at them, and their eyes locked briefly, before she turned her attention back to Stefan. Damon was obviously still worried that she couldn't handle herself; that she would fall victim to the game between them. Had Damon really told Stefan not to ask her out?

She barely finished one dance with Stefan before Damon was cutting back in, much to Katherine's chagrin.

"You and Stefan seemed to be having quite the conversation," Damon said to her as they moved around the dance floor.

"We were."

"What did he have to say?"

She looked up at him. "He told me he was going to ask me out once, but you told him not to."

"He's just trying to draw you into the game," he told her.

"Is it true?"

"That he wanted to ask you out?"

She nodded.

"Yes," he said simply. "At the time I thought it would be a really bad idea."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked him.

"Are you mad?" he asked her. "See this is exactly what Stefan does–"

"I was surprised, Damon, especially since we're supposed to tell each other everything."

Was she angry or not? Damon couldn't tell. He'd done her a favor, and saved her some heartbreak anyway. At the time he hadn't known Stefan terribly well, and when he'd asked Damon, Damon hadn't been sure if Stefan was a good match for Elena. Now he was glad he'd made that decision. Stefan didn't have a genuine bone in his body when it came to women. Elena didn't look impressed, however. It was bad enough that things were changing so quickly between them, without Stefan trying to cause trouble too.

"What else did Stefan say?" he asked her, when she remained quiet.

"He's not buying it," she said to him.

"What do you mean he's not buying it?"

"He doesn't believe that you're in love with me, or that we're together," she told him with a sigh.

He had once told Stefan that Elena was more like a sister, and a best friend, all rolled into one. Now, not only were those words were coming back to haunt him, but they mocked the uncontrollable desire he'd been feeling towards her since he'd seen her this morning. Damon looked over to see Stefan whirling Katherine around the dance floor. Elena was watching them too. The whole idea was to make Katherine believe he was with Elena, but now it seemed just as important that Stefan believe it as well.

"I obviously need to work harder at convincing him then," Damon said to her.

When Elena looked up at him, he brushed his lips against hers for the second time that day, letting them linger a little longer this time. The gentle contact sent sparks shooting through him. When he broke away to look at her, she was looking back at him as if she'd felt the same thing. They stared at each other for a moment before he lowered his head again and captured her lips with his. This time he was in no hurry to end the kiss, and when she opened her mouth underneath his, he didn't think before taking what she was offering him. It felt so good; felt so right, as his tongue slid along hers, that Damon found himself wondering why he'd never done this before today.

There must have been a good reason, but he couldn't think of it right now. He couldn't think about anything other than how good she felt against him. Fantasy started to take over as he imagined cupping her breasts in his hands, and trailing kisses over her naked body. She moaned into his mouth as their kiss turned into something slightly more heated. Would she make that same noise in bed when he joined them together, he wondered?

It was her soft gasp as his growing arousal pressed against her that made him break the contact. God, what the hell was wrong with him? What was he thinking?

"I'm sorry," he said to her, pulling away. "I forgot who I was with."

It wasn't the right thing to say. He knew that immediately. She stepped out of his arms and glared at him.

"You're sorry," she repeated, glaring at him. "You forgot who you were with? Did you think I was Katherine?"

"No!" he denied hotly, but it was too late.

First he'd practically forced his affections on her, kissing her without any warning, and then he'd managed to say the wrong thing. That was the exact reason he'd never done this before. Getting physical only complicated everything. He was meant to be putting their friendship back on the right track, but somehow he was managing to screw it up even further. It was all these changes, he thought, they were making him act funny, and messing with his head.

"Damon, a word please," Elijah said, putting a hand on Damon's shoulder.

He needed to try and explain himself, but Elena was already walking away. For the first time since they arrived, Damon questioned whether bringing Elena was the right call. He'd thought they'd have fun together, but what was happening between them didn't feel fun; it felt downright scary. Elena was the most important person in his life. How was he supposed to focus on anything when things weren't right between them? He couldn't. Things with Katherine would have to wait. He'd fix things with Elena, and _then_ maybe he could actually concentrate on winning Katherine back.

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><p>AN: Baby is just waking up, so no long author's note here. I will say that Damon is about to get a clue for those of you utterly frustrated with his obliviousness. I'm pleased this story is going down well with so many of you. As always your support is just overwhelming. I wish I had more time to gush :( Thanks so much for reading, and please review._  
><em>


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I am so, so sorry this chapter has taken me so long to publish. I have been writing, and re-writing this chapter and chapter six over and over again. That said they're done *does happy dance*. I'm happy with this chapter. I've changed the direction of this story a lot and I'm really excited about where it's going. Thank you to everyone who hunted me down, and reminded me they still wanted to read this. You all made sure I kept going.

_For aj81writing, who gives me more support than she could ever realize. Thanks for showing me how much fun it is to read about Damon and Elena getting physical in an Olivia Newton John kinda way. This chapter is for you._

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

_**No End of Trouble In Sight**_

"You could be in trouble there," Elijah said to Damon, the moment after Elena left the ballroom.

"Big trouble," Damon agreed.

Damon had to work out how to fix this situation between them, before it spun any further out of control. Unfortunately, he had no idea how he was going to do that. He didn't understand how he could screw up something so much without even trying to. Now, did he tell Elena he'd been thinking about her; about what it would be like to go to bed with her when they'd been kissing? Or did he allow her to believe he'd been thinking about Katherine? Come to think about it, there wasn't a thing he could say to fix this. Elena had always been a rather forgiving person, but if he didn't stop acting like an idiot he was doubtful they'd even be on speaking terms by the time they left the island.

He turned to Elijah. "By any chance can this wait until the morning?"

"Of course. You should go after her. It would be unwise to make her wait any longer for you than she has already."

"It's only been a minute."

Elijah chuckled softly. "But she has been in love with you for that much longer."

"Right," Damon said awkwardly.

"I admit I was surprised when you said you were bringing Elena to this couples week away. The last time I saw you, you seemed completely unaware of how she felt about you."

Damon gave him a rather strained smile. He felt relieved in that moment that Elena had her Mr X. If Elena actually had feelings for him, it would make this situation that much worse, and that would be saying something.

Elijah clapped Damon on the back. "We'll speak tomorrow. Go fix things with your lady."

Elena walked straight into their room, lay down on the bed, and pulled the covers over her head. She blinked away the tears that were threatening, and concentrated on her breathing. Agreeing to this had been the biggest mistake of her life. She had effectively marooned herself on an island with the man she loved, and the woman he was in love with. What type of person would do something so masochistic? The kind who would do anything for her best friend, that's who.

Even with her grand plans to move on, Elena worried that her heart may not survive their week away, especially if he kissed her again. Katherine was the only reason Damon had kissed her like that; that amazing, magical, make you tremble at the knees kiss. It hadn't been about her at all. And isn't that why she was so mad? Because for a moment she'd forgotten they were acting; that _she_ was supposed to be acting. Instead she'd kissed him without holding anything back; without holding her heart back.

It was the second time that day that she'd believed that he wanted her; that he might even be attracted to her, only to have cold harsh reality set in quickly enough. Any minute now, Damon was going to come through the door wanting to talk about what had just happened. Talking about it was the last thing she wanted to do. She didn't know what to say to him. Letting out a sigh, she slipped out of the bed, grabbed her pjs, and headed for the shower.

When she walked out of the bathroom Damon was sitting on the couch.

"Hey," he said when he saw her.

"Hey."

"I would have been up sooner, but Elijah-"

"It's fine," she told him. "I wanted a shower before bed anyway."

They looked at each other.

"Can we talk?" he asked her.

She wanted to tell him she was tired. She wanted to go to bed and pretend tonight had never happened, but Damon wasn't going to let that happen. She just had to get this over with. She reluctantly took a seat next to him on the couch.

"About before-" he started.

"Forget it," she told him.

"Forget it?"

"I don't need to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget the whole thing."

He looked surprised for a moment, but then his expression changed to one of relief. "I'm sorry for being a giant tool since we arrived here. I just want us to be okay," he said to her.

"We're fine," she told him. "Stop worrying."

She was about to stand up when he took her hand and held it in his. "You know how much your friendship means to me, right?"

She nodded, and tried not to cry. Friendship was all he wanted from her. Ugh, she didn't think she could feel any worse tonight.

"I don't want us to change," he told her. "I don't want things between us to be different."

"I know," she told him. Her throat was so tight she could barely swallow.

"I'm not good with change, Elena."

"I know."

"I need you to promise me something," he said to her. "Promise me we'll always be in each other's lives."

"Yeah, of course we will be," she said to him looking down at the floor. "I should go to bed," she told him.

Damon tried to smile, but he couldn't quite manage it. "Sleep well," he told her. "I have no idea what Klaus and Elijah have planned for tomorrow."

"I will."

He let go of her hand. "Goodnight, Elena."

Damon knew that had not gone well. She'd told him everything was fine, but it wasn't. He could feel things weren't right between them. She had every right to be pissed at him about tonight, but she hadn't even wanted to talk to him about it. In fact it seemed like she couldn't wait to get away from him. Whatever was wrong between them was bigger than tonight, he was realizing now. He couldn't understand why she seemed to be putting distance between them, but she was. She was shutting him out. He was losing her. He was losing his best friend, and he had no idea what he had done, or how to change it.

* * *

><p><em>There was no light from the lamp on the corner of the street, and it was snowing heavily. He was freezing. He was hungry. He was lost. Where was everyone? Why was he outside in his tee-shirt and boxers? A path appeared in the snow in front of him. He followed the path up to a red brick house. He knocked on the door, but no-one answered. The door disappeared and he was suddenly looking at a foggy window. <em>

_He banged on the glass, and when he stopped, there was suddenly a table in front of the window. A family of four sat there; two dark haired children, one faceless man, and Elena. Relief filled him at the sight of her. She was beautiful, he thought; she looked so happy. The food looked good, and the house must be warm. The hunger was starting to gnaw at him now. Elena would let him in. He knocked on the window, but she didn't look at him. She was too busy laughing at something the man had said. He knocked again. Damn it, couldn't she hear him? Didn't she know how hungry he was?_

_Finally, she stood up. Was she coming to get him? She disappeared for a moment and when she came back into the room she was smiling and carrying a baking dish. He didn't have to see it or smell it to know it was peach cobbler; his favorite. _

"_Peach cobbler," the man said, as she set it down on the table. _

"_I know it's your favorite," she told the man, cutting a piece and putting it on a plate in front of him. _

_Who was this ass-clown eating his pie? Why was this man getting pie, and he wasn't? She was making a mistake. That pie was meant for him. Elena belonged to him. _

"_Elena," he called, banging on the window again._

_The man wrapped his arm around Elena's waist, pulling her to him, and she lowered her head and kissed him. _

"_Elena," he called again, banging the window with both fists now. "Elena let me in. Elena!"_

"Damon!"

He opened his eyes and found Elena standing over him. "It was a dream," he said.

"More like a nightmare from the sound of it."

"I was hungry," he told her.

She nodded. She was the only person who knew how much he feared being hungry again; how being hungry reminded him of days when he had felt helpless, and abandoned. He sat up, and she came around the back of the couch, put her arms around his neck from behind. She rested her chin on his head, giving him comfort in a way no-one else had ever been able to. He placed his hand over hers, grateful that this felt normal, even if he everything else between them wasn't right now.

Damon couldn't remember the last time he'd ever felt this low; depressed even. After the events of yesterday, and his realization that his friendship with Elena was in trouble, his subconscious had thrown his biggest fear in his face. He was now dreaming about her mystery man as some faceless dude who literally kept her from seeing him. He'd hated feeling like he was on the outside looking in. He'd hated watching her with him.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" she asked him.

"Breakfast on Heaven, is something you have to experience," he said to her, standing up. "Come on, get dressed."

If he was going to fix what was wrong between them, then he needed to find out what had gone wrong. He wasn't sure where to start, but hopefully spending some time together would help. He should probably avoid touching her as well, since that had ended so disastrously last time. They would have to pretend to be together without the public displays of affection.

Once the two of them were ready, they walked downstairs together. Breakfast was served in the dining room, however the doors leading into the ballroom and onto the terrace were open, and there were tables and chairs set up outside. He could smell the salty sea breeze rolling in off the ocean as he guided her to the long buffet table laden with everything one might desire for breakfast.

Elena took in the cooked breakfast, pastries and fruits, and tried to work out where to start. They piled their plates, accepted the mugs of freshly brewed coffee that were handed to them from one of the servers, and sat at one of the tables out on the terrace. If she turned to her side she had a view of the early morning sun hitting the water, and if she stared straight ahead, past Damon, she had a superb view of the mountain ranges.

"Mmm, these are good," Elena told him, biting into a croissant filled with chocolate.

"Here, try some," she said, breaking off a piece and holding it out for him to eat.

Before he could stop himself, Damon was imagining licking the gooey chocolate off her fingers, before conducting a more thorough examination of how she tasted all over. He wanted to hear her moan again, but for him. He reminded himself quickly that he was supposed to be keeping his hands off her. He ate the piece out of her hand and let her pull her hand away, only to watch her lick the chocolate off herself.

"I wonder how many calories are in these," she said to him.

"Who cares? You're on holiday, and since when do you worry about calories?"

"Since I'm eating _this_ for breakfast."

"You're not going to turn into one of those women who worry about everything she eats, I hope."

"I just want to be in good shape when I join Caroline's agency."

Damon almost laughed. Most women would kill for her shape.

"Listen, if the guy doesn't like you the way you are, he's not worth it. And you didn't need the make-over either."

"Caroline and Bonnie think I don't stand out."

"What do they know?" Damon asked.

He liked Caroline and Bonnie, but he was annoyed Elena seemed more intent on listening to her girlfriends than him on the matter.

"They're right, I don't stand out. Guys don't see me."

"You mean _he_ didn't see you?" he asked her, trying to tamp down on his irritation.

"No," she said. "He didn't see me."

The hurt in her voice cut right through him. He was really beginning to hate this asshole she'd fallen for.

"If I can have your attention," Elijah announced. "Please take the morning to enjoy the island. Lunch will be served at midday, and you will be briefed on the afternoon's events from there."

Trying to move the subject away from her mystery man seemed like a good idea right now. While he was still itching to know his identity, he didn't want to cause any more conflict between them

Damon sat back, and linked his fingers behind his head. "What do you want to do this morning?" he asked her.

Elena looked down at her now empty plate. "Jog and a swim?"

"Jogging?"

He hadn't been jogging since Elena had been on her health kick several years ago, and she'd forced him to run with her.

"It's a good way to see the beach," she told him. "Of course, if you're worried you can't keep up…"

"I can keep up," he said to her, unable to resist whenever she threw down a challenge like that.

"So you say," she replied, her eyes twinkling.

Damon found his mood lifting when she smiled at him.

"Oh, I can definitely keep up, Elena."

The statement was so loaded with innuendo that she stopped smiling. He watched her eyes widen and then darken, shooting a bolt of hot lust straight through his middle.

She leaned forward slowly. "Why don't you prove it to me?"

He had to tell himself she wasn't inviting him to bed with her.

"With pleasure."

She stood up. "Come on then."

He couldn't stand right now without showing just how much he wanted to 'keep up' with her. _That_ was not the way to fix their friendship.

"I'll be up in a minute," he said, pretending not to be done with his coffee.

"I'll be waiting for you."

What was she thinking, Elena asked herself as she headed back to their room? She was meant to be getting over to him, and she'd just been flirting with him shamelessly. She put her running shoes on, and was in the process of tying her shoe laces up, when Damon walked into the room. He didn't say a word as he removed one shirt and swapped it for another.

"Ready?" she asked him, grabbing the drink bottle she'd brought to the island with her.

"I'm ready."

They made their way down to the beach in silence, stopping in at the large industrial sized kitchen to fill her bottle up with filtered water. After some gentle stretching, she turned to him. "Try and keep up."

She shot off down the beach, and Damon took off after her. They jogged for a couple of miles in companionable silence.

"Race you?" she said after a while.

"Where to?"

She pointed to a rock formation that jutted out onto the sand, a half a mile or so down the beach.

"On the count of three?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"One, two-"

She never said three, she just sprinted. Damon raced after her. She had a head start, but his legs were longer. He ran past the rocks just before she did. They both stopped to catch their breaths.

"Told you I could keep up," he said to her, giving her a cocky smile.

"You win. I guess I should give you your prize now," she told him.

Damon stood still as Elena walked up to him, ran her tongue over her bottom lip, leaned forward, and then squirted him in the face with her water bottle, before taking off again. He chased after her, and when he caught up with her, he wrapped an arm around her waist and picked her up. The drink bottle fell out of her hand and landed in the sand.

"You know, Elena, you're all hot. I think you need to cool down."

She squealed as he threw her over his shoulder and ran toward the water.

"Damon put me down!"

"As you wish."

"Dam-"

The rest of his name drowned as she landed in the water. She surfaced, spluttering and kicking. Damon laughed and offered her his hand, but she just glared at him, and stood up by herself. Once she was on her feet she spent a moment wringing out her pony tail.

"You're an ass," she told him as she put her palms flat against his chest, and tried to push him into the water.

"That's what you get for cheating, Elena. And this is what you get for squirting me in the face," he said, hooking his foot around the backs of her ankles and trying to sweep her legs out from under her.

Elena put her hands on his shoulders, and held on tight as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her under with him, dunking both of them. When they surfaced, his arm was still around her, and Elena was still clinging to him. As his gaze locked with hers, time seemed to stand still. She couldn't hear anything except her own heart thundering in her ribcage. When his gaze flitted down to her mouth, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to close her eyes and lean in, but instead of kissing her like she wanted him to, he abruptly let her go.

"We should get back," he said to her.

"Of course. I'm sure you want to get back to Katherine," she said, unable to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She was so utterly embarrassed she didn't know how to act.

Elena started walking out of the water, but not before Damon saw the look of hurt on her face. What the hell just happened, Damon wondered? One moment they were laughing and playing in the water like they'd done a hundred times before, and the next she was waiting for him to kiss her. When she'd leaned in towards him he'd frozen. All he could think of was how he'd kissed her last night and everything had ended all messed up. Now, this morning, he hadn't kissed her, and things were all messed up again.

He grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him. "Jesus, Elena. What's going on? What am I doing wrong?"

"Nothing," she said, not looking at him. She pulled her arm out of his grasp. "We need to get back for lunch."

Elena picked up her drink bottle, and tried to keep it together. She'd just made a complete fool of herself, and if he didn't know how she felt about him now, it would be a miracle. From the way he'd practically pushed her away, he found the idea of kissing her without an audience completely unappealing. But then why would he suddenly be interested in her now? She began jogging back, hating the feeling of her wet sneakers on her feet. Damon fell into place beside her, and Elena wondered if there was any way to save her heart from evisceration while she was on this island with him.

As they slow jogged back towards the house Damon watched Elena out of the corner of his eye. They were supposed to be acting like they were together in front of Katherine, but she was angry he hadn't kissed her just now. He was sure of that much. What he wasn't sure of, was why. No-one had been on the beach watching them. Moreover, she was meant to be in love with her mystery man, so why on earth would she want him to kiss her? The answer to that question hit him with such force it almost knocked him off balance.

No, he told himself. He was not her mystery guy. No way. It couldn't be him. She was here helping him win Katherine back. She wouldn't do that if she was in love with him, would she? Of course she would, he thought. She would do anything for him, just as he would do anything for her. He turned to see her wearing a determined look on her pretty face, as they continued to jog along together silently. Elena never kept a secret from him, but she refused to tell him who her mystery man was. Suddenly he couldn't shake off a slightly sick feeling that there may have been more truth to Katherine's constant accusations than he'd originally thought possible.

"_Since I realized the person I'm in love with will never see me the way I want them to."_

He didn't want it to be true. Not after he'd asked her to come here to help him make another woman jealous; not after he'd spent the past few weeks talking non-stop about Katherine. She hadn't wanted to come, he remembered that now. At the time he'd never asked her why. He'd been too focused on his desire to win Katherine away from Stefan to think about it properly.

The idea that she was helping him with Katherine, while she might have feelings for him, made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world. No wonder things had been off between them, since they arrived. The look of hurt on her face when he pulled away from her in the water flashed before his eyes, and the queasy feeling that he'd had for the last mile or so worsened. Was this why she was putting distance between them? How much had asking her to come here hurt her? Elena was the last person he ever wanted to hurt.

"…_no-one hurts you and gets away with it."_

"_It's not like he did it intentionally. He doesn't even know"_

You don't know it's you, he reminded himself. But that didn't mean he didn't need to find out. Already knowing what he had to do, Damon stopped when they reached the house. His clothes were almost dry after their run back, but his sneakers and socks were still soggy, and sandy. He took them off, and Elena did the same with hers. They walked back to the room in silence.

"I'll be back soon," he said to her, after changing his shoes. He walked out the door before she could say anything else.

Elena sat on the edge of the bed after he left the room. This was torture, she thought. She was so sure she'd given herself away, but he hadn't said anything, so he didn't know, right? He was so clueless, and thank god for that. The only thing that could make this week worse was another talk about how much he valued their friendship. She felt like she was walking on eggshells, waiting for her feelings to be discovered at any moment.

Damon made his way down to the office near the front of the house. He knew they weren't supposed to make personal calls there unless it was an emergency, but he didn't care at the moment. Elena would kill him for this, but he couldn't ask her about it; not right now. Things were so strained between them already, and he didn't want to risk doing anymore damage to their friendship. At least that was what he told himself as his dialed the number he knew so well.

"B&G Second Hand Books, Bonnie speaking."

"Bonnie, its Damon."

"Damon," Bonnie said, surprised. "Is everything okay? Is Elena okay?"

"She's fine."

There was a slight pause. "Then why are you calling me?" she asked warily.

"Can't I just give you a call? See how you're doing?"

"No, and shouldn't you be busy making Katherine jealous?"

He chose to ignore the hint of disgust in her voice. "Elena informed me on the flight over here that she's in love with somebody, and she won't tell me who he is."

"I really don't have time for this, Damon. The store is currently being overrun by-"

"Just tell me it's not me, and I'll go."

Bonnie sighed deeply. "You need to talk to her about it."

"Things are…weird between us."

"Things are weird between you?"

"Please tell me it isn't me," he begged.

"You know Elena is going to kill both of us for having this conversation, right?" Bonnie asked him.

Damon fell into the desk chair behind him, now one hundred percent certain he was her Mr X. If he'd felt sick before, it was nothing compared to what he felt right now.

"How did I not know about this?" he asked her.

The question was aimed more at himself rather than Bonnie.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" she asked him.

"Because I don't feel like enough of an idiot already. How long has she felt this way?"

"Damon, I have to go."

"What am I going to do?"

"You're in love with Katherine, right?"

"I think so."

He'd come here with every intention of making Katherine his again. Damon couldn't explain why he felt such a connection to the woman, he just did. The chemistry had been instantaneous, and even though she wasn't perfect, who was? Damon didn't know much about love, but he knew that loving someone meant overlooking their flaws no matter how big they were.

He loved Elena too, but it was a different kind of love. They'd always been friends, and he liked it that way. Elena was so much more to him than a girlfriend. She was above all the girls he'd met in his lifetime. No-one compared to her. Friendship had always been the safe option for them, and until this week away, he'd thought it was the way to guarantee that they would always have each other.

"You think so?" Bonnie asked now.

He could practically hear her shaking her head at the other end of the line. "What's your point?" he asked.

"My point is that Elena is finally trying to get over you."

"The whole dating agency thing?"

"Yes. Finding out you're in love with Katherine was pretty hard on her, Damon. So, just…just let her get over you. She needs to move on. I have to go."

"Right. Thanks."

"Damon," she said, before he could hang the phone up. "It might be better if Elena never knew we had this conversation, and you forget you know. Let her keep some dignity while she's stuck on that island watching you with Katherine. See you when you get back."

Damon took his time walking back to the room. He had no idea what he was going to say to Elena. Perhaps he could start with 'sorry I'm an oblivious idiot who had no idea how you felt about me'. Or perhaps he should just keep his mouth shut. Elena was getting over him after all, according to Bonnie. Let her keep her dignity, Bonnie had told him.

Elena was just coming out of the bathroom, drying her hair, when Damon stepped back into the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the way he was looking at her. She felt the panic hit her straight away. Oh my god, Elena thought. He knows.

* * *

><p>AN: For anyone interested, I finally got myself a Twitter account (LoveEpicLove). I am always one step behind the masses, but am making up for it now. I have also started working on Bet Me again. My muse has returned on that story, so I'm going to make the most of her while she sticks around. Thanks for reading, and please review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So I left you with a pretty evil cliffhanger, many of you were keen to tell me. Sorry :-) No evil cliffhanger this time, lol. Thanks for all the favorites, subscriptions, and reviews. They keep me smiling, and keep me motivated, and let me tell you I've needed the motivation. This chapter almost cured me of ever wanting to write again, but I'm pretty happy with it now. My friend who normally runs her eye over my chapters for me is busy at the moment, so please forgive any editing errors.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

_**I Can See Clearly Now**_

Elena had the insane urge to burst out laughing. Damon just looked so…so shocked. He really never had had a clue. At home he'd been completely unaware of how she felt, but after one day of being here on this island with him, 'pretending' to be in love with him, her secret had come out. She had tried to hold onto it with everything she had, but in the end she had failed miserably.

"Where have you been? It's almost midday," she said, throwing her wet towel on the bed.

She was just dreading what was coming next. She could already hear him telling her how flattered he was; how he valued their friendship way too much to mess with it, or something along those lines. No matter what he said, it would be a cringe worthy moment she was sure she would never be able to forget. Elena absolutely hated the tiny part of her that hoped he might tell her that he felt the same way she did; that Katherine really meant nothing to him.

"I'm getting in the shower," he said to her.

That was it? He had just uncovered the biggest secret of her life and he was going to take a shower? Forget a cringe worthy moment. Obviously her feelings didn't even warrant a mention. Her hope curled up and died. Of course he didn't feel the same way. He loved Katherine. This was closure, she tried to tell herself. Perhaps part of her might have always wondered about whether he could return her feelings, but not anymore. This moment would only make it easier for her to move on. He ripped his shirt over his head, exposing his perfect chest, and Elena thought it would be easier to move on when she didn't have to watch him undressing all the time.

Elena turned away from him as he stripped off, but this time Damon noticed the slight part to her lips, and the colour staining her cheeks. Was she breathing faster? How could he have missed _that_ in the past? She was aroused, he realized; just from looking at him. He was hard in an instant. He walked into the bathroom, and when he turned the shower on, he didn't bother with the hot tap; just stepped straight into the cold spray.

He had spent so long trying _not_ to see her in that way, that it still felt unnatural. He remembered back to their summer at the Cape. That was when he'd realized she had the body of a woman; that she had breasts. When he'd seen her in her bikini, on the first day they were there, he'd gone back to the house and thought about her while he pleasured himself. Afterward, he'd felt so guilty; like he'd violated some sacred pact they had as friends.

Until yesterday he'd succeeded in pushing those sexual thoughts about his friend from his mind. Her make-over, however, had triggered them off again. He knew Elena so well. He knew how she liked her eggs in the morning, and the way she took her coffee. He knew which way she voted, what type of music she liked, and her favorite movie, but he had no idea what she liked in the bedroom; and suddenly that was all he could think about. What was her favorite position? Did she like it fast or slow? What did she taste like? What did she sound like? He didn't know what was more painful – the sting of the cold water on his skin, or the painful throb of his erection. As he picked up the soap, he imagined lathering up her thighs and sliding between them.

There was a sharp rap on the door. "We're going to be late," she called out.

"I'll be out in a minute."

He was so tempted to yell out and tell her to join him, but where would that leave them? As selfish as it might be, Damon was relieved that Elena was getting over him. She'd never said anything to him about her feelings. That meant she didn't want to act on them, right? It meant she didn't want to ruin their friendship. She'd lost enough people in her life. Why jeopardize what they had for something that might not work out? She was choosing their friendship over anything else that could be between them. He turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower.

Elena sat on the bed and tried to occupy herself with a magazine she'd bought, however, she couldn't concentrate at all. She flicked from one page to another. After a finding an article on what men really want in the bedroom, she threw the magazine down on the bed, and stood up. Why hadn't he said anything? Even if he didn't feel the same way he should have said something. For whatever reason, he was keeping his mouth shut. Her best friend was probably worried that his rejection would send her packing; that she wouldn't help him win Katherine back. Well he needn't worry about that, and she would tell him so. She opened her mouth to say something when he walked out of the bathroom, but he talked first.

"We need to go. We're going to be late," he said to her.

"I was ready ten minutes ago," she found herself saying.

"Come on then," he said to her, opening the door.

There was no way he could pursue Katherine now, Damon thought, as they left the room. He didn't think he could feel like a bigger asshole than he did already. He didn't know how much damage he'd done to their friendship by not realizing how she felt sooner. He would have to avoid Katherine for the rest of the time they were here. Hopefully Elena wouldn't be too suspicious. The last thing he wanted was for her to know that he knew. That would only make things harder on her; make things weirder between them.

When they arrived for lunch, it looked like everybody was already seated out on the terrace. Seeing the banquet table full again, this time with soups, rolls, and salads, they hurriedly served themselves lunch and walked out onto the terrace. They stopped, looking for chairs that weren't taken. When Damon spotted the only seats left on the terrace, he realized he had just been deluding himself if he thought he could avoid Katherine while they were here. The only available seats were the two in front of Stefan and Katherine.

"There are no seats left," Elena said to him.

"Actually, I see two," Damon said to her.

"Where?"

"Over there."

"Perfect," he heard Elena mutter, as they made their way to the table where Stefan and Katherine sat.

Damon didn't think he'd ever dreaded a meal before, but he was dreading this one.

"There you are," Katherine said; her face lighting up when she saw him.

"How was your morning?" Stefan asked Elena as she sat down opposite him.

"Fine," she told him. "We went jogging and saw some of the island. This place is amazing."

"Yes it is," Stefan agreed, smiling at her warmly.

Damon put his arm across the back of Elena's chair once they were seated. It was just as well he wasn't going to be pursuing Katherine anymore while they were here. It gave him more time to make sure Stefan kept his distance.

"You jog now?" Katherine asked Damon.

"When I drag him with me," Elena said, picking up her wholemeal roll, and cutting it open.

"Damon never had any energy left in the mornings after I was finished with him," Katherine said snidely.

What kind of woman talked about her time in the sack with another guy, in front of her current boyfriend, Elena wondered? Elena was sure Katherine meant the comment to be both a boast about her own libido, and a dig at Elena's, but how was Stefan supposed to feel about that? He didn't look at all that impressed. It was fair to say her disgust with the entire situation was growing. How on earth did Damon honestly imagine they could keep the same level of friendship when he started dating Katherine again? The idea was preposterous.

"Katherine," Damon said, shaking his head.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"You're being a bitch," he said to her.

"Dogs do like to mark their territory," Elena said, buttering her roll.

Katherine glared at her, but Stefan looked more than a little amused.

"You don't hold back do you?" Stefan asked her.

"What's the point? Life is too short."

"I'll drink to that."

Damon looked on, disturbed, as Stefan tipped his water glass in Elena's direction.

"If I remember correctly, you like bunnies right?" Stefan asked her, once he put his glass down.

"Yes," Elena said to him, surprised that he remembered their conversation about rabbits from the first time they met.

"Did I ever tell you my sister breeds them?"

"Let's face it," Katherine said, sounding bored. "It's not hard to breed rabbits."

"She's ten years old," Stefan told Elena, "she made me buy one."

He took out his wallet, pulled a photo from it, and handed it to Elena. Elena smiled as she looked at the photo.

"You carry a picture of your rabbit?" Damon asked.

"That's Nibbler," Stefan said to her, ignoring Damon. "And that's my sister, Rachel, holding him. She's looking after him while I'm here."

Elena looked up at him. "You and your sister are close?"

"She has me wrapped around her pinkie and she knows it."

Elena handed the photo back to him.

"I thought you might appreciate that," he said to her.

Damon tried not lean over the table and hit Stefan as he watched Stefan and Elena smiling at each other. Stefan was charming her with a picture of a bunny of all things. Katherine looked just as horrified by Stefan turning his attention to Elena as he was, and Damon wondered if that was Stefan's intention – making Katherine jealous.

"If I can have your attention," Klaus started. "Today we're going to be hiking on our neighbouring island, Devil's Peak. The hike will take around three hours. Following that we'll have a cookout on the beach. Please finish your lunch, and then make sure you are dressed appropriately. The boat will be ready to take you across at one-thirty. Don't be late."

Elena put down her roll, the food suddenly tasting like cardboard in her mouth as she realized she would have to spend the next few hours with Stefan, Katherine, and Damon. Was Damon going to want to keep their pretend relationship up now that he knew the truth, or would he try and abandon project make Katherine jealous in hope of sparing her feelings? Elena didn't know which was worse. The last thing she wanted was Damon watching her all the time; trying to figure out if she was getting over him.

"Damon," Elijah said, walking up behind them, "I still have a question I need to ask you. Come and see me after lunch."

"I did not sign up for the great outdoors," Katherine said, once Elijah had walked away.

"It's just one afternoon, Katherine," Stefan said tiredly.

"One afternoon of bugs, and people sweating."

"Only if they're unfit," Elena said, earning another glare from Katherine.

"You said it was like coming to a resort," Katherine accused Stefan.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'm going to start getting ready. Please excuse me."

"But you didn't eat anything," Stefan pointed out. "We don't want you fainting on our big walk."

"I had a big breakfast. I'm actually not that hungry."

"Well, I know first-aid," Stefan told her. "So you're safe if you stick with me."

When Stefan winked at her, Elena nearly fell over. Was he being playful? She wasn't sure he had it in him. Damon had always told her Stefan was Mr Boring. She took one look at the murderous expression on Damon's face, and stifled her laugh. Stefan had been sending her some clearly admiring looks just now, but he was obviously still just trying to annoy Damon.

"Could you be any more obvious, Stefan?" Katherine asked.

"Enjoy the rest of your lunch," Elena said, standing up.

"I'll come up with you," Damon said to her.

Elena wanted to tell him not to come up with her, but what would that achieve? She couldn't avoid him for the rest of the week even if she wanted to, and dancing around this subject was going to make her all the more anxious. They were going to have to talk about it. This was a conversation she'd been putting off for years. She just wished they weren't here on Heaven's Isle. She wanted to be at home, where she could run to Bonnie and Caroline afterward, and eat herself to death via ice-cream.

Damon tried not to be upset about the fact that she quite clearly did not want him to come up with her. The look on her face told him she really didn't want to spend time with him right now. This is just temporary, he reminded himself. She would get over it. They would get through this. Perhaps forcing her to spend time with him right now wasn't going to help that much, but what was he supposed to do? He'd already messed up by bringing her here. He couldn't undo this mess. He almost wished he didn't know. Knowing he was the one she was trying to get over; the one she was hurting over was the worst feeling in the world. He had to find a way to tell her that he wasn't going to pursue Katherine while they were here; hopefully without giving away the fact that he knew how she felt about him.

"You know, our plan has already worked," Damon said to her, when they reached their room. "I was thinking we could just hang out for the rest of the week. It's been ages since we were able to just spend time together like this."

So he was going to try and spare her feelings, Elena realized. Really it was too late for that. She started shoving some things in her backpack; sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, camera.

"The only reason I'm here is because you wanted Katherine to see the error of her ways," she said to him.

He could hear the hurt in her voice. "I love your company. You know that," he said to her. "I always have."

"Maybe," she said, pausing for a second. "But you didn't ask me here because you love my company. I'm here because you want Katherine back. You're close to getting that. Don't give up now. I can keep Stefan busy."

Uneasiness settled in the pit of Damon's stomach. She saw the look on his face, and glared at him.

"Don't say it, Damon. I'm perfectly capable of spending time with Stefan without getting sucked in."

"I know. I just…I can't help being concerned for you. After hearing you're getting over some jerk…"

"I know you know, Damon," she said, ready for this conversation to be over already.

"Know what?" he asked.

"I know you know. I know you know the identity of my Mr X. So cut the act."

Damon couldn't believe it. He hadn't said anything.

"Don't look so surprised," she said. "I can read you like a book. Are you really not going to say anything about it?"

Their eyes met, and Damon wondered why she looked angry with him. Wasn't this what she wanted? She was the one who had kept this whole thing a secret from him. She was the one who stayed quiet for however long. He was just following suit; and Bonnie's advice.

"I was taking my cue from you, Elena. I assumed you wanted to ignore it."

"I did. I mean…you obviously you don't feel the same way about me."

He felt his heart twist in his chest at her indirect question. Yes, he'd had thoughts about her over the past two days, but he didn't want to do anything about them. He wanted to ignore them and hope they went away. He didn't want to alter their current relationship. That might be selfish, he thought, but they would both be happier in the long run, because they weren't running the risk of losing each other. She might not see this now, but staying friends was for the best.

He picked his words very carefully, not wanting to hurt her anymore than he had already. "We've been friends for a long time. I've tried really hard not to see you that way."

"So it's my fault I'm in love with you?"

"That's not what I'm saying, and you know it."

"No, but it's what you mean, which is crazy considering you're in love with Katherine."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't see you tyring not to see her that way. You're in love with her, in spite of the fact she is a complete, and utter bitch, and she left you for Stefan."

"Say what you really think, Elena," he said, trying to maintain some kind of control over his emotions.

They'd argued before, many times. They'd had a few big fights. However, he didn't want to fight with her now; not about this, not when it felt like their friendship was hanging on by a thread.

"Look, I don't want to fight with you," he told her. "Not here. I don't want someone to say something they'll regret."

"God forbid my being in love with you should threaten our friendship."

"I thought the whole reason you've stayed quiet is because our friendship means as much to you as it does to me."

"It does," she told him.

Elena knew that that was the only thing Damon wanted to hear right now; that in the end her feelings weren't going to threaten their friendship. It was the first time in the whole time she'd known him that she'd thought of him as selfish; as selfish with her. He would never give any real thought to them being more than friends because he was too worried he might lose her. He walked over to her, and took her hands; holding them in his. She looked at their hands joined together for a moment before looking up at him.

"We'll get through this," he said to her. "Whatever you need from me; however I can help. Just tell me."

Elena barely resisted the urge to snap at him that her feelings were not something they had to 'get through'. He was wearing such a sympathetic expression on his face, and she realized she couldn't take this; his feeling sorry for her. Right now she just felt pathetic. She pulled her hands out of his.

"You don't have to worry about it. I'm pretty much over you now," she told him, hoping that that would somehow put them on more equal footing; in his mind anyway.

"You are?"

"Yes. It turns out you were right. Coming here has helped a lot."

"How? I mean…I thought it would have made it worse."

"So did I, but it turns out watching you pine after Katherine is a pretty big turn-off. This is exactly what I needed. A reality check."

"How long have you felt this way?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that this has been just what I needed to fall out of love with you. So just keep chasing after Katherine. It's helping."

Damon frowned, not feeling right about that at all. Yes he was relieved she seemed to be getting over him, but he didn't want to rub her face in the fact that he was wanted someone else. That would be cruel.

"Trust me," she said to him." I'm fine."

Damon nodded. He wouldn't argue with her about this, but he wouldn't pursue Katherine either.

"Elijah still needs to speak with me about something," he said to her, thinking they could both do with a breather. "I'll meet you at the boat."

Elena stared at the door after he left, and swiped at the lonely tear now sliding down her face. It was done. She'd survived the conversation, and it had been every bit as terrible as she had imagined it would be. She consoled herself with the fact that she couldn't possibly feel any worse than she did now. It was all up from here. It had to be. She would feel better, and soon the words she'd told him would be true. She would be over him. Watching him chase Katherine was good for her to see. Every nail in her heart was a reminder of how much it hurt to be in love with him, and how much she needed to move on.

* * *

><p>"Damon."<p>

Damon was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice Stefan until he bumped into him.

"Have you seen Elijah?" Stefan asked him.

"I'm looking for him myself."

Stefan nodded. "Elena back at the room?"

"Yeah, she is, and you can cut the cute comments remarks with her. Whatever this is we're doing here with Katherine, we leave Elena out of it. Am I making myself clear?"

"As it turns out, I'm not doing anything with Katherine," Stefan told him. "We broke up."

"That's too bad," Damon said to him, feeling slightly smug about the fact that he'd won this round.

"I can see you're all broken up about it, but you're an idiot. Katherine wants both of us. She wanted me when she was with you, and she wanted you when she was with me."

"So she's a little confused," Damon said with a shrug.

"Well I'm sure you can help her make up her mind. Let's just say my interest no longer lies with Katherine."

Damon's blood ran cold. "What did I just say? Stay away from Elena."

"You know, Damon; the only reason I never went after Elena before was because she was in love with you."

Was he the only person who hadn't been able to see it?

"Then that's hardly going to work out for you now, is it?" Damon asked.

Stefan leaned in, and mock whispered, "I get the feeling things are about to change."

Damon wanted to ask him what he knew. "You don't know anything about it," he said to Stefan instead.

"I know you want Katherine back. You see, you're going to get back with Katherine, and you're going to break Elena's heart in the process. Guess who'll be there to pick up the pieces?"

"She knows everything about our game, Stefan. She'll never go for you," Damon said to him, desperately hoping that would be enough to stop him.

He'd brought Elena here when she was in love with him, and made her watch him chase another woman. Now his biggest rival was moving in, and Stefan was right, Elena would be more vulnerable now. If she ended up even more hurt than she was already, because of Stefan and this game, Damon would never forgive himself.

"You warned me off her once," Stefan told him. "I'm not going to listen again. Elena seems pretty cool, and I'm going to ask her out."

"You're going to ask my girlfriend out? You're the idiot Stefan."

"Come on, Damon. We both know you're not really with Elena. You told me a long time ago you don't see her that way. But _I_ do see her that way."

"That's too bad for you."

"No, Damon; that's too bad for you. You brought her here to use her in our 'game' as you called it. What kind of a person does that?"

He hadn't thought he could feel any guiltier than he did already, but Stefan was fast proving him wrong. What kind of person was he to do that to Elena? She was the kindest, most generous person he knew, and he'd somehow managed to take advantage of that when he brought her here. Sure he hadn't known how she felt about him, but that was because he hadn't paid enough attention. He'd missed the signs. He'd been a bad friend. But just because he was an idiot, and a jerk, and blind to boot, didn't mean that he didn't love her; didn't care about her. Stefan couldn't possibly understand what they had.

"You know _nothing_ about what she means to me."

As if Stefan could see he'd hit a soft spot, he kept talking.

"You don't deserve her, Damon. She's too good for you. I don't even know why she's friends with you."

Stefan's words ripped the lid off the insecurities he tried his best to hide. Damon already believed there had to be something wrong with him. Why else would his mother have left? Why hadn't she taken him with her? What kind of mother left their only child? He must be lacking something. He'd walked away from everyone before they walked away from him, and hurt him. He walked away from them before they could realize he wasn't worthy of their love.

Maybe that was why he let himself love Katherine. She was too busy talking about herself, and thinking about herself, to ever get to know him properly. Katherine wasn't capable of getting to know anyone. Her interests would always start and finish with Katherine, and Damon actually loved that shallow part of her, because it meant she couldn't reject the real him.

Elena was the only person he had ever allowed to matter to him, and that was because she'd forced her way into his life, and not allowed him to push her away. Their friendship was his way of effectively tying her to him. He didn't want to let that go. She wasn't supposed to fall in love him. Love couldn't be trusted. His mother had told him she loved him the very day she left. Friendship _could_ be trusted. Now Stefan had him believing that he was going to mess their friendship, and Damon felt himself starting to panic. He didn't want Stefan anywhere near Elena.

"I'll make her my girlfriend for real," he heard himself tell Stefan.

"That's going to look great, Damon. If she knows about this game like you say, she's going to believe the only reason you're interested in her is because I am. You missed your chance. I get Elena, and you get Katherine; the consolation prize. Good luck with her by the way. She's a high maintenance one."

Damon was right on the verge of losing his temper, when he noticed Elijah approaching them.

"Go near her, and I'll break every bone in your body," he growled.

Stefan simply grinned and then walked away purposefully.

"Damon, there you are," Elijah said to him. "Step into my office for a moment."

* * *

><p>Elena picked up her knapsack and made her way down to the boat. She was very tempted to stay in her room, but she would go crazy locked in the room with only her thoughts for company. When Elena boarded the boat she looked around for Damon, but she couldn't see him anywhere. She'd just sat down when Stefan joined her. She took a deep breath before turning to look at him. Katherine wasn't with him.<p>

"Where's Katherine?" she asked him.

"She broke up with me," he told her.

So Stefan and Katherine were done already? She'd expected that it was going to take a lot longer than one day for them to split up. Elena tried to feel happy. She wanted to feel happy, but she just couldn't manage it. Their plan had worked. Damon would get Katherine back, and while she was usually good at convincing herself that she could be happy for him, she couldn't today. She felt miserable. Why couldn't this break-up have occurred before Damon had figured out she was in love with him?

"I'm sorry," Elena said, not knowing what else to say.

What did that mean for her now? She'd played her part. Damon wouldn't want her hanging around anymore, not when he could spend time with Katherine. Where did that leave her? God, how humiliating was it going to be if she had to fake breaking up with him in front of everyone.

"Don't be," Stefan said to her. "Katherine is playing both of us, and I think we actually had this one coming."

"If only Damon could see that," Elena muttered.

"I just ran into him. He doesn't believe she's playing us."

Elena nodded. "I know. He's completely blind."

"Don't be too hard on him. Love does that. Blinds us."

Elena was surprised to hear him defending Damon, and to hear him being so honest with her. "It sounds like you've been there," she said to him.

"I was in love once. Had my heart broken. Right before I joined Smith & Smith."

"Tell me about her," Elena found herself saying, wanting any kind of distraction from the pain she herself was feeling right now.

* * *

><p>Damon stepped onto the boat after answering Elijah's question about the campaign for Brewer's Beer. The office in Mystic Falls shut down for the week that they were away; however, some business was still conducted from the island. It wasn't anything that couldn't have waited until they returned home, and he'd had to work very hard at not showing his irritation at being detained when his enemy was on the prowl. Damon spotted Stefan talking to Elena straight away, and was about to walk over there and make good on his threat when he felt a tap on the shoulder.<p>

"Katherine," he said when he turned around.

"I've been looking for you. Stefan and I are over," she said to him. "It's you I want, Damon."

Damon looked over at Stefan and Elena. As if feeling him watching them, both of them turned around. At that moment Katherine threw herself at him, and started kissing him.

Elena averted her eyes, and tried not to let the sight of Damon and Katherine together bother her, but failed. Her best friend had wasted no time getting back together with Katherine, even after finding out how she felt about him. Of course she'd told him she was getting over him, and that seeing him with Katherine would be good for her, but he'd only been too happy to believe her. Her friendship was all that mattered to him. Her love meant nothing.

"I guess that's that then," Stefan said to her. "You can't tell me you were with Damon now."

"No," Elena acknowledged. What was the point in lying now? It would just make her seem like even more of a fool than she did already. "You were right. Damon never saw me that way; will never see me that way."

"Well, that leaves both of us a partner down this week."

"I guess it does."

"So I have a proposal for you," Stefan said to her.

* * *

><p>AN: Phew, I'm glad I'm done with this chapter. I'm excited about chapter 7. Thanks for reading, and please review.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Firstly, 600 reviews. Wow. Thank you everybody. I read something on a profile page once that has always stuck with me. It said it's a team effort to make a story successful; a team involving both the writer and the readers. I thank you for every review, favorite, and alert. I thank you for making this story the success that it is.

About this chapter: Oh my goodness did these characters throw me off track. This chapter is not the one I planned on writing at all. It's the most angst-riddled thing I've ever written, and I felt so jerked around by the characters it's not funny. They wanted to have their say. Thank you _Lokya_, and _aj81writing_ for reading this through for me first. I also have to thank my pre-reader who stopped work on her nano, to look this over for me too. Here we go.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

**There's No Coming Back from Here**

"I'm listening," Elena said to Stefan.

The boat rocked gently as the rest of Damon's colleagues stepped on board, and Elena supposed she should be grateful that she wasn't seasick on top of everything else she was feeling right now.

"I would like to ask you out," Stefan said to her.

Considering how heartbroken she felt, she didn't want any part of whatever game Stefan was interested in playing right now. She didn't want to be anyone's game. She just wanted to get off this island. Was there anyway she go home early?

"I don't think-"

"I can understand why you'd say no. So, I'm not going to ask you out _yet_. Here's what I'm proposing – spend the week with me. Get to know me. And when we're back in Mystic Falls, I'll give you a call sometime, and you can give me your answer then."

She must have still looked hesitant because he continued.

"What do you have to lose? Damon and Katherine will keep themselves busy. Do you really want to hang around those two? I can't imagine you'd enjoy yourself very much."

"No," she said to him. "I don't want to hang around those two."

"You might even find you like me," Stefan said, smiling gently.

She gave him a weak smile in return. "I'm sure you're very nice; but this thing between you and Damon…"

"I'm not going to lie. Damon's not my favorite person. He's making out with my ex-girlfriend right now. He came here with every intention of breaking us up. And to be honest I don't think he deserves you…either as his friend, or as his girlfriend."

It was amazing that even though he'd broken her heart she still wanted to defend Damon. Stefan didn't know him like she did. She'd seen the way he could be with other people, but he'd always cared for her. At least she thought he had. He'd always been there for her. He might not feel the same way, but that wasn't his fault. The heart wanted what the heart wanted.

"Damon can be a jerk, but he's not a bad person."

"I admire how loyal you are, Elena, but he brought you here, and used you, knowing full well how you feel about him."

"Actually, he only found out today," she sighed.

She didn't even know why she was telling him that, but Caroline and Bonnie weren't here, and maybe she just needed to confide in somebody.

"He didn't know?"

"He only just figured it out."

Stefan shook his head. "How could anyone be that dumb?"

She laughed, and that relieved the pressure in her chest a little bit. "I did everything I could to keep it from him.

"What did he say?" Stefan asked her, turning right around in his seat to look at her. "When he figured it out?"

"He said he's tried really hard not to see me that way."

"Damon's an idiot."

Elena didn't want to explain Damon's past to Stefan. She knew why Damon had tried not to see her that way. She knew that he was afraid of them messing up their friendship. Yes he was being selfish, but she could understand why. Of course it didn't make this any easier.

"Can I ask you something?" Stefan asked her. "Why do you do this to yourself? Why do you hang around him? Isn't that a tad masochistic?"

"It is. That's why I need to move on. That's why I _am_ moving on. I was hoping that it would hurt less when I found someone I could move on with."

"I'm more than happy to be that guy, Elena."

The way Stefan was looking at her was more than admiring now. His gaze was so full of male appreciation she actually found herself flushing. Other men had looked at her like that too, but that had been before she'd made her resolve to get over Damon.

"He may not see you that way, but I do."

At that moment Damon walked up to them.

"I need to talk to you. Alone," Damon said to her.

It made Damon sick to see Elena blushing from whatever crap Stefan was telling her. He never thought he'd see the day Elena would fall for one of Stefan's cheesy lines. Stefan had swooped in when Elena was at her most vulnerable and was taking full advantage of it. He wanted to shake some sense into his friend, but she wasn't even looking at him. No, she was looking at Stefan.

"Yes," she said to him. "Yes, I accept your proposal."

Stefan nodded. "Come get me when you're done."

Damon sat down next to her the moment Stefan left.

"Yes you accept his proposal?" he growled. "What proposal?"

"Stefan has asked me to hang out with him for the week."

Didn't she see what Stefan was doing? "You've got to be-"

"I think it would be a good idea. Especially with you and Katherine back together."

"We're not back together," he told her. "I told her I was with you."

"You did? Was that before or after you kissed her?"

"After I pushed her off me. Or didn't you see that?"

He regretted Elena had had to see Katherine kiss him at all. He'd pushed Katherine away straight away. He had no intention of doing anything with Katherine until Elena wasn't around anymore. He'd hurt her so much already, he had no desire to see her hurt anymore.

"No. Then again I didn't feel like watching you kiss her for any extended period of time. Why did you tell her you were with me? I thought you would have been jumping at the chance to rub it in Stefan's face."

"I don't want to be with her here. I told her I didn't want to break up with you until we got home."

"Oh."

There he went again, Elena thought, trying to spare her feelings. Well, he was too late.

"I know you said you were okay with it, but I can't be with Katherine, knowing you feel the way you do."

Was she supposed to be grateful? She just felt even more pathetic.

"You mean you can't be with her here because you'll feel bad, but when we get home you fully intend to start up with her again."

"I'll see what happens when we get back to Mystic Falls," he said, shrugging.

Elena knew that meant yes.

"I want to hang out with you," he told her. "I want to spend time with you."

"But I don't want to spend time with you," she said to him.

He looked so hurt that she regretted her word choice immediately. That didn't make it any less true though, she realized. She didn't want to spend time with him right now. Now that he knew, and now that they'd had their conversation, she didn't know how to be around him and pretend she was okay. She wasn't okay, and she didn't want to have to act like she was. She'd been in love with him for such a long time, and suddenly she was so tired of making out that she wasn't. She was just exhausted from trying to keep her feelings under control around him. She needed some distance from him. She needed to heal. She'd just been lying to herself this whole time. There was no way she could move on while he was still around.

"I'm sorry," she said to him.

"But you mean it," he said to her.

"Yes."

Damon had to look away for a moment. He didn't know how to handle what she was saying. He had nothing. Everything he said was wrong. Everything he did was wrong. He was already coming dangerously close to losing her. The depression that had been flitting close to the edge was ready to close in on him. When he looked back at her she was biting her bottom lip nervously. Did he have any choice about this?

"If that's what you want," was all he could manage to get out.

"It is. And I think I might need some space when we get back to Mystic Falls."

The more she thought about it, the more confident Elena felt that this was the right thing for her; for both of them. He wanted her to get over him, so she would.

"Space," he repeated.

"Some time apart," she explained. "You said you'd do whatever you could to help me get over you. I think I need time and space."

Damon wanted to tell her no. He wondered if this was what it was supposed to feel like to be dumped. It certainly hadn't felt like this when Katherine broke up with him. Right now he felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He'd never felt so much overwhelming anger and hurt at the same time. It was unbelievable, Damon thought. This was the very thing he'd hoped to avoid by staying friends. This was never meant to happen. She wasn't supposed to need time and space away from him.

"How much time?" he asked her now.

"I don't know. Maybe a while. However long it takes."

"And if I give you space, will things go back to the way they were?"

"Things will never be the way they were, Damon." She swallowed. "You found your love. Now I need to try and find a love that isn't you. And when I do, I'll need to put them first."

He felt as if his whole world was crumbling around him. He felt…betrayed. That was the word. He'd kept everyone at a distance, never allowing himself to let anyone in, except for her. He'd let her in, and now she wanted out. She wanted space from him for some undetermined amount of time. Who knew how long it would take her to decide she wanted to spend time with him again. He felt like he was being abandoned all over again. Sure she said she just wanted space, but this was just the beginning. She was going to realize she didn't need him or want him in her life. Everyone who loved him walked away from him.

"You should be happy," she said to him. "You won. You have what you came here for. Katherine's yours."

How could he be happy? This holiday, and this stunt with Katherine, had just cost him the only relationship that really mattered to him; the only person who he needed. If only she'd said no to coming with him. If only she'd been honest with him about how she felt earlier, they might not have ended up here.

"You should have told me, Elena. You should have said something."

"Why? What would it have changed?"

"We'll never know," he said bitterly. "Will we?"

"When was I supposed to tell you, Damon? Was it when you told me no woman would ever matter to you? Or was it when you told me you'd always be the one to walk away first? I didn't want to run the risk of you walking away from me."

"Well that changed didn't it? You're the one wanting space and walking away from me."

"I'm not walking away from you, Damon. You don't see me that way, and I've spent far too long hoping you might."

"How long?" he asked her. "How long have you felt this way?"

"A long time," she said to him.

"How long, Elena?" he pressed.

"Since our summer at the Cape," she told him.

He didn't believe it. He couldn't have been this blind for that long. If it was true why was she just trying to get over him now?

"So after close to ten years you decide to move on. Because of Katherine? Because you don't like her? What?"

He would never see Katherine again if it would make any difference at all; if it meant things could go back to the way they were. He wanted Katherine, he did, but he wanted Elena in his life more. It was meant to be the two of them against the world. They were supposed to be a team.

"Because you're in love with her," she told him.

"I've been with lots of women, Elena."

"But you've never been in love with any of them. Don't you see? You walked away from every woman the moment you felt something for them, and I thought you were incapable of letting yourself fall in love with someone. But you weren't."

She stopped and looked away, and when she looked back at him, her eyes were filled with tears.

"I thought that if you could ever fall in love with someone it would be me. But it wasn't me. It was her."

Damon felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest all over again as he watched her tears spill over. He was vaguely aware of the fact that the boat was starting to move.

"You're the only person I care about, Elena. You're the only person who matters to me. I'd do anything to put us right, to make this better."

"But you can't."

Whatever relationship they'd had as friends was over, he thought. She'd told him things would never be the same between them again. The last two days he'd been frantically trying to put things between them, but he'd been too late. The damage was done. And if that wasn't bad enough, Stefan was there ready to step into his place. He'd driven her into the arms of the person he hated the most.

"So what now?" he asked her. "You spend the week with Stefan?"

"We're just going to hang out."

"You can't trust him."

"I know that."

"You'd rather spend time with someone you can't trust than with me?"

"Stefan sees me in a way you never will," she said to him, standing up. "And right now that's exactly what I need."

Damon could see Stefan over near the railing, waiting for her, and he had to stop himself from grabbing Elena and pleading with her not to walk over there. He wanted to tell her about all the thoughts he'd had about her these past two days; even at the Cape. However, he knew that she wouldn't believe him; not now that he'd brought up Stefan. He'd fought his feelings and desire for her, thinking that their friendship was the only way to hold onto her, but it hadn't made any difference. She was about to walk away from him anyway.

* * *

><p>Damon hated every second of the hike. Katherine never left his side, and she made annoying comments about the heat, and her shoes; shoes which were not appropriate for hiking. She was going to have blisters tonight, Damon thought, which would no doubt lead to more complaining. When she wasn't complaining, she was swatting at bugs Damon couldn't even see. Each time he heard the slap of her hand against her arm or her shoulder, he found himself growing more and more agitated.<p>

The sight of Stefan and Elena walking ahead of them only added to his agitation. He couldn't stop watching her smile gently at Stefan, and laugh politely at Stefan's stupid jokes. When Damon saw Elena letting Stefan rub sun cream on her shoulders, Damon thought he was going to lose it. He couldn't lose it though; not in front of his bosses and his colleagues.

Holding onto his temper was taking so much effort that it was a relief when they arrived back at Heaven's Isle. As soon as he stepped off the boat, he left Katherine alone with her pout, and went upstairs by himself. He hit the shower, and when he walked out of the bathroom, she still wasn't back. She was taking her time, Damon thought. Then he heard voices outside the door.

"I had a really nice time this afternoon. Thank you." he heard Elena say.

"I'll see you tonight," Stefan said to her.

He didn't hear Elena's response.

"Do you want me to come up and get you later?" Stefan asked now.

"Thank you, but that's not necessary."

"You're right. It's probably best not to under the circumstances. Are you going to be okay staying in the same room as Damon? Because-"

Damon didn't wait to hear what he was going to say. He yanked the door open, noting Elena's shocked expression. Was that because he's appeared or because of what Stefan was about to suggest. He leaned in the door way and tried to look imposing.

"Damon."

"Stefan."

"How did you enjoy the hike?" Stefan asked him.

"It was awesome," Damon said, not willing to admit to Stefan he hated every minute of it.

Stefan smirked, obviously not believing him. "I told you Katherine was high maintenance."

"Is there a reason you're still here?" Damon asked him.

"I was just leaving."

"Goodbye then," Damon said, waving him off.

"Goodbye, Elena," Stefan said.

Stefan actually started to walk away, but then he stopped and looked back at Damon. "I said it to Elena, and I'll say it to you. I'm willing to put this thing behind us if you are."

Was he serious? Stefan had told him he didn't deserve Elena, and then moved in on his friend when she was at her most vulnerable.

"Go to hell, Stefan."

Elena gasped, and then glared at him.

"I tried," Stefan said to Elena. "I look forward to the pleasure of your company later."

Elena stalked into the room when Stefan left, and Damon stalked in after her. She was mad at him, but he didn't give a shit, because he was mad at her too.

"Would it kill you to try being civil?" she demanded.

"Yes it would kill me. It's Stefan. A fact you seem intent on ignoring in your sudden rush to get over me."

"You want me to get over you, so quit acting like a jerk."

"I don't want you getting over me with, _Stefan_."

"Too bad. Stefan's nice. I like him."

"I thought you were just hanging out."

"We are. But he's going to ask me out when we get back to Mystic Falls."

"Don't tell me you're actually considering it."

"Fine then, I won't tell you."

"You have no idea what he's up to."

"I know it's impossible for you to believe Stefan may actually be interested in me, but if I choose to date him you should support me."

"Support you? He hates me. I hate him."

"And I hate Katherine. She's horrible to me. She always has been. A fact _you_ seem intent on ignoring!"

"So you're doing this to punish me?"

"Yes, Damon; everything I do is because of you," she snapped. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Damon didn't know what was wrong with him. It was like he could see the self-destruct button flashing and couldn't resist pressing it.

"Are you trying to push me away?" she asked him.

"What's wrong with me, Elena, is that you waited ten years to get over me, and then you tell me you need space and start talking about dating Stefan."

"God, Damon how can you be so selfish? I came here to help you get Katherine back when I wanted you for myself. All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. How can you not want the same for me? Isn't that what friendship is about?"

"Don't talk to me about friendship, Elena. Friends don't need time and space away from one another. You ruined this friendship when you fell in love with me."

He watched the color drain out of her face, and knew he'd gone too far now. He hadn't meant to say that. He didn't mean it.

"Is that what you believe?" she whispered. "You think I ruined our friendship?"

"No. I'm sorry. I don't think that."

"I don't believe you. I think you do believe that."

"I'm sorry I fell in love with you," she said to him. "_Believe_ me, I never wanted to. I'm well aware of the fact that the only thing you ever wanted from me was friendship, but you didn't have to go and throw it in my face."

"I never meant to. I didn't mean to."

"For the record, Damon, it wasn't me who ruined us. _You_ ruined us when you chose to see my love for you as a problem. Ten years I've been in love with you, and when you found out, the only thing you cared about was how that would interfere with our friendship. You know I've seen a side to you here that I've never seen before. You've been selfish and hurtful and I don't deserve that. Forget time and space, Damon. This friendship is _over_. When we get back to Mystic Falls, I don't want anything to do with you."

She walked into the bathroom, and left him standing there. His biggest fear had been losing Elena, and now his fear was his reality. It seemed he no longer had to sit around and wait for her to realize he wasn't worth sticking around for. She was right; he was selfish. He knew that he'd been selfish. He had been so worried about how losing her would affect him, that he hadn't even realized how he was affecting her. He'd hurt her, when all she'd done was love him. Stefan was right. He didn't deserve her friendship. He didn't deserve her. It had only taken them both thirteen years to realize that. Now that they had, however, he wasn't quite sure how to cope.

He made his way down to the beach for the cook-out. There was no point waiting for Elena. She probably wouldn't speak to him for the rest of the week. Hell, maybe she'd never speak to him again. He felt dazed, unsure, and unprepared for this feeling of being completely alone in the world. There was no-one who gave a damn about him anymore. He'd pushed away the only person who cared about him.

Elena let the tears fall while she was in the shower. Thirteen years of friendship _over_. She couldn't even imagine her life without him; but she would have to. She'd held onto their friendship through ten years of being hopelessly in love with him, but now it felt like those years were a waste. Ten years of being in love with a man who could think so little of her love was so stupid. She'd never been more determined to get over him. She refused to spend another minute pining after him. She exited the shower, put on one of her new outfits, did her hair and make-up, and walked out the door.

The cook-out was in full swing when Damon noticed Elena make her entrance. He was nursing a beer, and sitting next to Katherine, not by choice, when Elena walked onto the beach. She looked incredible in a tight pink t-shirt, and a sarong style skirt with a slit that went the entire way up. Every time she moved he caught sight of her shapely legs. She looked like she belonged here; on Heaven.

It wasn't an outfit he'd seen before, and he thought they must have been some of the clothes she'd bought during her make-over. He cursed her make-over again, before remembering she was dressing this way because her mystery man hadn't seen her; correction, because _he_ hadn't seen her the way she wanted him to. Now she was wearing the clothes she'd bought to get over him; and she was wearing them for Stefan. The saddest part was he couldn't even tell her how beautiful she looked tonight. She wouldn't want to hear anything he had to say right now.

"Damon can't stop staring at you," Stefan told Elena as they ate their dinner.

It was dark now, but there was plenty of light coming from the bonfire. Elena didn't look over to where she knew Damon was sitting with Katherine. She could feel him watching her, and she was barely resisting the urge to look back at him.

"He's going to want you now," Stefan said to her.

"You're crazy," she told him. "He has Katherine now."

"Exactly. And I have you."

He didn't have her, Elena thought, but she understood what he was saying.

"You think Damon is suddenly going to become interested in me because I'm spending time with you?"

That was like something Damon would say about Stefan.

"Absolutely."

"He's never shown any interest in me that way. He only sees me as a friend and right now he doesn't even see me that way. I told him in no uncertain terms that we're no longer friends."

Stefan snorted. "That will only make it worse. Damon is just like Katherine. He wants what he can't have. And right now he can't have you."

She didn't want to talk about Damon with Stefan. They were meant to be hanging out. She was supposed to be getting to know him, but he seemed more intent on focusing on her and Damon which made her wonder just how genuine Stefan was. Was he capable of not playing the game?

"Well that's too bad for him," she told him. "I'm not interested in him anymore. And I'm not interested in talking about him either."

"Good for you."

"Thank you."

"I really do like you, Elena."

She stopped eating and looked at him.

"You have a bit of…"

Stefan wiped the sauce off her lip, and the next thing she knew he was leaning in to kiss her. She pulled away before he made contact.

"Too fast?" he asked.

"I thought this week was just about us hanging out."

"You're right. I apologize."

She heard him say something about how beautiful she looked and being carried away in the moment, but she couldn't help questioning whether he was even more about the game than Damon was. Trying to kiss her when he knew Damon was watching seemed more like him wanting to piss Damon off than anything else. She was probably never going to be able to trust his motivations, so why was she spending time with him? Because the alternative at this point was that much worse, she told herself.

"Are you ever going to stop watching her?" Katherine asked Damon.

Damon knew he hadn't taken his eyes off Elena since she walked onto the beach.

"Probably not," he said to her.

"Why do you care? Stefan told me you only brought Elena here to make me jealous."

"He did, did he?"

"So you can stop pretending to care," Katherine told him. "I broke up with you because I thought you would choose Elena over me, but seeing you use her so shamelessly made me reconsider my decision to end our relationship."

"Let me get this straight," he said to her, "you want to go out with me again because I treated my best friend like crap?"

"Elena seemed to mean so much to you that I thought there wasn't room in your life for another woman. Now I see I was wrong."

Elena had said to him that Katherine treated her horribly, and she'd been right. He'd never worried before, because Elena always seemed like she could handle herself around Katherine, but now he realized it was just one more way he'd been a bad friend. He stood up, not knowing where he was going; just knowing he had to get away from her.

"You weren't wrong, Katherine. If I ever had to choose between you and Elena, it would be Elena every single time."

"You have a funny way of showing it," she called after him, when he turned away from her.

He started walking down the beach. He walked, and walked, until he reached the rock formation jutting out onto the sand that he and Elena had raced to earlier that day. It was still warm. A light breeze rustled through the leaves of the trees behind him. He could smell the perfume of the exotic plants, and he could hear the gentle lullaby of the water lapping at the shore. It would have been perfect; except for the fact that he was completely and utterly alone. He sat down on the sand and wondered how it could be possible that he missed her like crazy already.

Elena was listening to Stefan talk about one of the accounts he was working on when Elijah interrupted them.

"Elena, there's a storm coming, and I noticed Damon took off down the beach. I'm a bit concerned he won't be back before the worst of it."

She didn't want to speak to Damon, or see him right now, yet she found herself telling Elijah she would look for him. No matter how much she hated him right now, she didn't want him to be stuck in the middle of a storm.

"Do you want me to help you look for him?" Stefan asked her.

"No, that's okay."

Aside from the fact that she didn't trust Damon not to do anything stupid when Stefan was around, she actually found the idea of a walk by herself appealing.

Damon looked out at the sea and thought about the last time he'd felt this lonely. It had been right before Elena entered his life. He didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to feel like this; but he deserved to. He had let his fear of losing her dictate his actions, and that had cost him the most important person in his life. He didn't want to go home without her friendship. She'd been in love with him for ten years, and she was right, the only thought he'd given her feelings was terror that it would change everything between them.

How different would today have turned out if instead of being afraid of losing her, he'd had the courage to be open to the idea of loving her? Of course there was the chance it would end; it would fail, but he'd never even contemplated the thought that loving her could be something wonderful too. If he'd given her feelings the consideration they deserved he wouldn't be sitting here alone. He would still have his best friend. He would have her by his side. Maybe they'd be great together. Didn't they say friends make the best lovers? Their kiss last night proved there was something between them.

Before he could think better of it, he removed his shoes and walked into the water. This was where it had all gone wrong, he thought. When she'd leaned in for that kiss, he should have kissed her. God, he wished he could have that moment back. He would do anything to start today over. He wanted a second chance. He knew he didn't deserve one, but he wanted one anyway. He found himself looking up at the sky and wishing he had a chance to see and do everything differently today; a chance to make things right with Elena.

Then, as if she had heard his wish, she appeared on the beach and started yelling at him.

"Damon, what are you doing? There's a storm coming!"

A storm coming? The water was so calm.

"You have to come in!" she yelled at him.

He couldn't go in now. The universe, for whatever reason, was giving him a second chance and he wasn't going to waste it.

"No, Elena! You have to come here!"

Go in there, was he insane? Elena wasn't going into that water. The air had suddenly grown chilly, and she found herself wrapping her arms around her in an attempt to keep warm.

"You're going to drown in there!" she called out to him.

Elena couldn't make out what he was saying; something about not wasting second chances. She couldn't hear him because of the wind that had come out of nowhere. There was definitely a storm coming. She didn't want to be caught in the rain. However, Damon was making no sign to head in. He was standing there, looking as if he was waiting for her. Wasn't it bad enough he'd ruined everything today, without him trying to get them killed too? She had no idea what storms were like on Heaven's Isle, but she wasn't keen on experiencing her first tropical storm so far from the house.

"Damon, would you please come out? I want to go back."

He said something, but she couldn't hear him. Why was he being so difficult? He still wasn't moving at all. She should go, and leave him standing there, but she couldn't. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him. A clap of thunder frightened her into taking action. She walked a little way in, hiking up her skirt. She was wearing a bikini underneath, but she didn't want to take off her skirt in case it blew away.

The water was a surprisingly pleasant temperature, and she moved further into the water trying to stay warm, until she was waist deep. As soon as she started walking towards him, he began moving towards her, until they were facing each other. He reached out and put his hands on her upper arms so they wouldn't be moved apart by water that was suddenly choppy.

"What are you doing, Damon?"

"Do you believe in second chances, Elena? This morning, we were right here. I should have kissed you."

"Damon-"

"I was so afraid, Elena. I was too afraid, even though I wanted to do it. But I'm not afraid anymore."

Realizing exactly what he was going to do, she put her hand up to stop him. "No."

"You have to give me a second chance. I made a mistake. Please Elena; let me try this moment again."

As if her heart hadn't been through the wringer enough already. She didn't need this. "You don't get this moment back, Damon. You're too late."

"I don't believe it," he said to her.

She didn't want this, she told herself, as he dipped his head and pressed his lips against hers. It was too late for them to turn the clock back. He had hurt her so badly. She wanted to get over him. She refused to give in. She refused to kiss him back.

He pulled away from her. "Just let me have this moment again. Please."

She was shaking her head. "We can't come back from this, Damon."

"We can," he said to her. "We have to. I want this. I want us."

"You wanted to push me away. And you succeeded."

Damon knew this was his only chance. He had to lay it all on the line.

"I know. I hurt you, and you have no idea how sorry I am for that. I have spent the last thirteen years afraid that you would eventually realize that I'm not worth your time."

"Damon-"

"I know I was selfish. I know I've been a bad friend. But I can change. I care about you, Elena, more than anything else in this world, and even though I don't deserve it, I want another chance to be your friend; to be more than your friend."

Elena didn't have a chance to respond before a wave crashed into them from the side, knocking both of them into the water. When they surfaced, she was clinging to him just like she had been earlier that day. His gaze locked with hers, and then he was lowering his head and kissing her again. This time his lips were more persistent on hers, and before she could think better of it, she was kissing him back.

Damon let out a soft groan as she started moving her lips against his. She clung onto him as the water bounced them back and forth. They needed to get out of the water. They needed to go back, before the storm came, but she was too caught up in kissing him. It was the first time in ten years she didn't actually have to hide how she felt about him. It was…freeing. After years of suppressing her desires she could actually explore them.

It wasn't slow and tender like last night; it was fast and passionate and she felt feverish with longing as he kissed her again, and again. He felt it too, she realized; this all encompassing heat. One of his hands slid under her top, creating its own trail of fire. She was aware of his arousal nudging her belly as his hand cupped her breast. His thumb slipped inside the material of her bikini top to skim over her nipple, sending yet another wave of heat straight to her tummy. She could feel the tension building inside her. Without thinking she started stroking him through his shorts. His muffled sound of approval filled her with dizzying excitement, and satisfaction. He wanted her. She could scarcely believe it.

For thirteen years he'd never shown any interest in her like this. Even this morning he'd turned her away instead of kissing her, and now he was burning her alive with his passion. Things had changed so fast. Just hours ago, he'd been chasing Katherine. Katherine. Had he fallen out of love with her already? Elena knew better than anybody that you couldn't just fall out of love with someone that quickly. So what was going on here? His desire for her was too new. She broke away from him as soon as she realized exactly what was going on.

Damon couldn't work out what happened. He was still almost bursting out of his skin with need for her; for what they'd started. Kissing her was unbelievable. He wanted more. He needed more. But she looked like she was about to cry.

"None of this is real for you," she said to him. "You don't really desire me at all. You only want me because Stefan wants me."

Then the heavens opened up, and it began to pour.

* * *

><p>AN: One of my pre-reader's comments was this: "I hope they get their shit together ASAP". Well, they will, and they are. It's all up from here peoples. Promise. For some reason they just had to hit this bottom first. Thanks for reading, and please review.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments, and for taking the time to read this story. I know I kept you waiting for this chapter. It wasn't my intention but r/l has been kicking my behind for the past two weeks. Thank you BtrixMcG, and to my amazing pre-reader, C, for reading this through for me.

I've been giving my chapters names lately, but this chapter just doesn't have one. Not much else to say...hope you like.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

**Chapter Name: Untitled**

Damon couldn't have cared less about the rain. He was too busy trying to decide whether he should grab Elena, and shake some sense into her, or take her in his arms and kiss her doubt away. She'd touched him. She'd felt how turned on he'd been; how _very_ much he wanted her, and it had nothing to do with Stefan. Even after everything that had happened that day, Damon couldn't understand why she would think it would. He knew he'd been far too careless with her feelings, but he would never, _ever_, use her. Nor would he feign interest in her for the sake of winning a game. She should know that.

"This has nothing to do with Stefan," he said to her, reaching out and stroking her face through the rain.

He hated how upset she looked; how vulnerable. She was hurting, yet again because of him, but this time she shouldn't be. He knew now; he knew with every fiber of his being that he wanted whatever they could have together. He wanted her. He wanted to be with her. He wasn't afraid anymore. He'd come to his senses. Their kiss had been a perfect moment that should have shown her everything he felt for her, but instead she'd taken it as part of his game with Stefan.

"Damon, we have to go."

They couldn't go yet. He couldn't let her believe for one more moment that this wasn't real for him.

"You have to believe me, Elena. Please tell me you believe me."

"The first time you show any interest in me in thirteen years is the same day he does." Elena said to him. "What am I supposed to think?"

"You're supposed to think you know me better than that."

She looked so damn uncertain, and he could feel the hands of despair and desperation trying to reach out and grab him again, but he wasn't going to let them drag him under. So maybe one kiss wouldn't erase the ten years she'd spent feeling rejected by him. He was going to have to do better than that. He was going to take her back to the house and show her how much he wanted her. He was still partly aroused from their kiss, and as he thought about the possibilities for the night ahead, he grew even more aroused.

"Please, Damon, we need to go."

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, and Elena looked at him with real fear in her eyes. She was also shivering. Until now, he hadn't even realized that the rain was cold. In spite of the way the temperature had suddenly dropped, he felt heat coursing through him.

"Let's go then."

He grabbed her hand, and began immediately pulling her along with him towards the shore. Once they were out of the waist deep water, they were able to move faster. Damon didn't even bother looking for his shoes when they were back on the beach. They had drifted away from where he'd left them, and he wasn't going to find his shoes in this weather.

The rain was so heavy, and the wind was so fierce, that their progress back to the house was too slow. They had barely made it half a mile down the beach when Damon saw car lights flashing in the distance. They ran up the beach to where Elijah was waiting for them in a section of forest that led onto the beach. Damon opened the back door and helped Elena into the car, and then he got in after her.

"What were you thinking, Damon?" Elijah asked as he reversed. "Taking off like that? You were supposed to be at the bonfire."

"I never meant to be gone so long. I lost track of the time."

After seeing Elena shivering uncontrollably, Elijah fiddled with the heating in the car, blasting hot air through the vents in the back. Elena was shivering so violently beside him that Damon was starting to worry. He didn't even bother putting on his seatbelt; just wrapped his arms around her and tried to warm her. Elena curled up against his side, but it didn't seem to make any difference. He was relieved when the house finally came into view. Damon thanked his employer for the ride back to the house, then he concentrated on getting Elena back to the room.

"I'm g-g-going to t-take a sh-shower," she said when they were through the door.

Damon resisted asking her whether he could join her, and instead let her go in by herself. He stripped off the wet shirt that was plastered to his skin and shoved it in a plastic bag, along with his wet shorts, and boxers. Then he grabbed the towel he'd slung over the couch earlier, wrapped it around his hips, sat down on the couch and waited for Elena to get out of the shower.

It took a long time for Elena to stop shivering, even with hot water streaming over her. She put it down to the complete exhaustion she felt. Today had wrung every emotion from her. She didn't think she could feel one more thing tonight. It had been a very long day. She'd been jogging, hiking and then she'd been through a complete kaleidoscope of emotions as Damon finally figured out he was her Mr X, and she'd ended their thirteen years of friendship. She was so tired she wanted to collapse, and she still felt cold; like she couldn't quite shake the chill she'd caught. She wanted to get into bed and warm up. When she finally left the bathroom, and saw Damon waiting for her, however, she knew the day _still_ wasn't over.

"I just can't tonight, Damon. I'm too tired."

Damon thought he too should probably be tired, but he wasn't. He was wide awake. His adrenaline was pumping. He felt like he had a new lease on life. He felt excited, and happy, and he wanted to share everything he felt with her. His newfound happiness was, after all, because of her; because he'd finally stopped being afraid, and was embracing what he should have understood years ago. She looked so pale, and fatigued, however, that he knew his plans of spending the night in bed together were not going to be ones he could follow through on. That would have to wait till tomorrow. He had to talk to her now, though. He had to tell her how he felt. He couldn't let her believe that what he felt was because of Stefan.

He stood up and walked towards her, needing to be close to her as he said what he was about to say. He took her hands in his.

"What happened in the water tonight had nothing to do with Stefan. I know that I hurt you today, but I didn't mean to. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I would never use you-"

"Damon, stop. I can't. Not tonight. I have nothing left."

"I'm not asking for anything, Elena. I'm telling you that I didn't kiss you because I saw you with Stefan. I kissed you because deep down I've always wanted to, and I've never had the courage too. I have been fighting what I've felt for you since the Cape-"

"And you managed to fight it just fine. Until today."

"Look at me, Elena. You know me. I wouldn't do it. I wouldn't make you part of the game. It's not about Stefan."

Elena sighed. She wasn't up to this tonight. She'd told him that. To be honest she felt a little shaky. She'd been holding onto the anger his words from earlier today had made her feel, but gradually that anger was slipping away. Her decision to walk away from their friendship earlier today had been made in the heat of the moment. Between his apologies, and his confession that he felt unworthy, he was melting the barrier she had been trying to resurrect between them over the past few hours. That said, she still didn't believe his desire for her had _nothing_ to do with the day's events.

"I know you would never do anything deliberately to hurt me, yes, but I think seeing me with Stefan somehow made me more attractive to you."

He shook his head. "No. The way I feel about you has nothing to do with him. I was scared that I was going to lose you if I let myself think about you that way, but I was wrong. I just didn't realize it until today. I want us to be together. I want a relationship with you."

He was reaching, Elena thought. He was so afraid of losing her that he would do anything to hold onto her. How else could she explain his sudden desire to be with her? He was so afraid of her walking away from him that he would do anything to keep her; and that included trying to give her what she wanted – him. He had apparently forgotten that he was in love with another woman.

"And what about Katherine?" she asked him.

The question had Damon reeling. He had completely forgotten about the other woman; hadn't thought of her once since he'd walked away from her at the bonfire earlier.

"I'm done with Katherine," he told her decisively.

"You are?"

"Yes," he said to her, pulling her hands against his chest. "I want us, Elena-"

"You were in love with her at the start of the day. I can't believe you suddenly don't care about her anymore. Trust me; I know how long it can take to get over someone you're in love with."

"I want what I can have with _you_," he told her. "You have to give me a chance, Elena. You have to give us a chance. I'm ready for this, for us. I'll make you happy. We'll be happy. I just need you to let me show you."

Elena wanted to believe him as desperately as he wanted her to believe him. It had all just come far too late. She didn't trust Damon's newly found desire in her. He was scared of losing her and acting accordingly. When they got back to Mystic Falls and he finally worked out he didn't want her quite as much as he thought he did, she would be shattered beyond repair.

"I can't," she said. "It is too late. It's just too late."

Damon let go of her hands and stepped backwards. She'd been right, he thought. He should have waited till morning to have this conversation with her. Not because he believed it would change the outcome at all, but because he would have spent the night with hope as his company, instead of misery. She wasn't going to give him a chance; all because of Stefan.

"I'm the one who's sorry," he said to her. "You gave me two hours of knowing how you feel about me, to act on it, before you decided that everything I do now is about Stefan."

"Maybe it's not about Stefan," she said to him.

"Then-"

"But you don't really want me. You only think you do. You're afraid of losing me; whether to Stefan, or to anyone else."

"Yes I'm afraid; I _was_ afraid, and that's why I didn't do this before."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't believe you."

No-one could be sorrier than he was. In one day he had pushed away the only friend he had, and he'd also lost the opportunity to become her lover; to deepen their friendship and see where it would take them. He'd lost so much that the devastation almost brought him to his knees. Now he suddenly felt very cold.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said to her.

Elena swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I'm going to bed. I think we should talk in the morning."

That was great, Damon thought; they were going to talk. Talking had got him into this mess in the first place. If he was lucky, Elena might have reconsidered her decision to end their friendship. That was all he could hope for now. He'd finally realized he wanted much more than friendship, but friendship was all he was going to get. Maybe: if she decided she wanted to be friends with him again…if his pleading and desperation had suddenly opened her eyes to how much she meant to him.

Elena slid inside the bed she'd made earlier that day, and closed her eyes. She listened to Damon taking a shower; heard him leave the bathroom and lie down on the couch. She didn't know if he was sleeping or not. Considering how tired _she_ felt, she should be sleeping, but she couldn't; she was still cold. She suspected she was simply so tired that her body could not keep itself warm.

She was wearing a camisole, and shorts and she needed to put more clothes on, but they were on a tropical island, and the only clothes she'd brought were shorts, skirts and short sleeve tops. She also had several dresses, two cardigans, and that was all. The longer she lay there, the colder she felt. After an undetermined amount of time passed, Elena slipped out of bed, giving up on sleeping without warming up first. She needed to find an extra blanket, or a jumper. Damon sat up when she walked over to him.

"I'm cold," she told him. "Do they have any extra blankets in here?"

"I'm not sure. I'll go and ask someone."

Elena pictured him waking up Elijah or Klaus, and thought better or it.

"Can I borrow a shirt?" she asked him.

Some of his shirts were so big, that they were like jumpers on her anyway.

"Help yourself," he said to her, waving his hand in the direction of his case.

He seemed so miserable she had to stop herself from asking what was wrong. She already knew what was wrong; their relationship had imploded. It would be shaking his foundation as much as it was shaking hers. They had to talk in the morning. There was no way either of them could get through the rest of the week like this. She took a shirt out of his case, put it on over her camisole, and slipped back into bed. Unfortunately, the shirt didn't make any difference at all, and after her trip out of bed she was even colder than before. She began to shiver again. The more she shivered, the more she tensed, and soon her teeth were chattering. They were so loud that she didn't hear Damon approach the bed.

"Move over," she heard him say to her.

Elena was so cold now, she didn't bother arguing. Damon slid in beside her and spooned her. His body was hot and toasty, and when he wrapped himself around her, she found herself snuggling into him, trying to get warm, and in spite of the pain they'd caused each other during the day, she took comfort in his nearness. Eventually the shivering and the shaking began to ease, and she finally drifted off to sleep listening to the sound of the rain beating down on the rooftop.

When Damon woke up it was still dark, and his arms were still tightly wrapped around Elena. Her hair tickled his face, and he buried his nose in it now, inhaling her clean scent. He'd never been so close, and yet so far from a dream in his life. She was in his arms, but he wasn't allowed to touch her the way he really wanted to. She moved ever so slightly and it broke the tenuous grip he'd had on his desire.

Tonight could have ended so differently, Damon thought. She could have been lying spent and sated in his arms after a night of lovemaking. He wanted nothing more than to be buried inside her, giving them what they both needed; erasing away the pain of the day they'd had, and making her forget all her doubts. His body responded in accordance with his thoughts. He had to get out of there. She was warm now anyway. He moved backwards in the bed, and began withdrawing his arm.

"Damon."

"Mmm."

"Don't go," she murmured, moving back, to find his body with hers, obviously not wanting to lose her hot water bottle.

She made a noise when her backside connected with his erection.

"What is-"

"I know you know the answer to that, Elena."

"Oh."

"See, in spite of what you think, I do want you."

She turned around to face him.

"Since today," she said to him.

"No, not since today. I've been fighting my feelings for you since we were at the Cape. I told you that."

Damon was growing increasingly frustrated with her lack of listening skills.

"You did, but-"

"But what?"

"But you didn't let yourself give into it."

"No. I turned it off. Or at least I tried to."

"And you'll turn it off again."

"I won't. I can't this time."

She shook her head.

"Elena," he said impatiently, "I want you. Badly. And it has nothing to do with Stefan, or of how afraid I am of you walking away from me. In fact it's in spite of the fact I'm worried you don't want me in your life anymore. Today has been the worst day of my life, so would you please stop telling me what I do or don't feel, and what I can and can't turn off."

"Okay," she said, propping her arm up, and resting her head on her hand.

"Okay?"

"Do you want to talk?" she asked him.

"I'm in bed with a beautiful woman and she's asking me if I want to talk. My first thought is no."

Elena felt herself flushing with pleasure. He'd called her beautiful.

"You really felt something for me at the Cape?"

"Yes."

"Tell me about it."

"What do you want to know?" Damon asked, mirroring her, by propping his head on his hand.

"I don't know. Anything."

"You were wearing a red and white bikini that first day at the beach. I couldn't stop staring at your breasts."

His gaze flicked down to her breasts now, as if to acknowledge their part in the conversation. They were covered by two layers of clothing, a sheet, and a blanket, but she still felt naked. His gaze lingered there for a moment, and when his eyes finally met hers again, Elena knew the heat she saw in them this time was real.

"I never noticed," she whispered.

"When we went back to the beach house, I locked myself in my room, and imagined you were there with me."

"Are you saying…?"

"I thought about you."

"You thought about me while you…"

"Mmm-hmm."

His smirk, combined with the image of him doing that, sent a rush of damp heat to her core. He reached out and wound a lock of her hair around his fingers, before letting it go, and sweeping it off her face.

"You, and your breasts, were the star of my fantasy. It was the quickest I ever…"

Maybe his desire for her wasn't so new, Elena thought.

"I felt so guilty afterward. I thought you would hate me if you knew what I'd been doing; what I'd been thinking. I thought you would want to end our friendship."

She shook her head. "I was falling in love with you. I thought you were going to ask me to the dance that summer. I couldn't believe it when you said you wanted to take Joanna."

"I wish I'd known. I would have taken you."

"When I watched you leave the dance with her, I wished you were leaving with me instead."

Ten years of misunderstandings and miscommunication had led them here, Damon thought. It seemed like loving him had only made her miserable. She'd said today she was getting over him. Did he really deserve the second chance he'd begged her for earlier? He wanted them to be together; he wanted it more than anything, but maybe she was better of getting over him. He couldn't be selfish with her anymore. Whatever she decided she wanted would be something he would have to accept.

"I hate that I've hurt you," he told her.

"I know."

"You're the last person I ever wanted to hurt, Elena."

"I know."

"Whatever you decide about our friendship, my desire for you is real. I know I came here to make Katherine jealous, but ever since we arrived here I've barely been able to keep my eyes off you. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. Even last night, when we were dancing, I wasn't thinking about Katherine. I was thinking about you."

Her breath hitched, as his eyes caught and held hers.

"About what it would be like to go to bed with you."

A small whimper escaped her, and her heart tried to hammer out of her ribcage. Her eyes were still locked with his.

"About what it would be like to kiss you, and touch you. What it would be like to be inside you."

She was so incredibly turned on. His name came out as a needy whisper. Hearing him say those things to her was like a dream come true. Maybe he _did_ want her. Right now she didn't care about _why_; only that she was so close to having what she'd been imagining for the last ten years. She couldn't hold back any longer. She closed the distance between them, and kissed him softly on the mouth. When she pulled back from him, his eyes were darker than she'd ever seen them.

"Lena," he choked out.

"Yes," she told him. "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Kiss me. Touch me. I want you to make love to me."

Even if she hadn't invited him to do so, Damon didn't think anything could have stopped him from going ahead and taking what he wanted. Her lips met his again. He wanted to take his time; take it slow, leave her with no doubt of how she affected him, and how much he cared about her, but the knowledge that ten years had passed, and been wasted, left him far too impatient. He needed to be inside her so desperately, it took everything he had not to take off her bottoms and give them what they both craved right now.

As if she felt the same, she moved so that she was sitting astride him, her hands diving into his hair, as she kissed him with urgency. His hands moved to her hips, caressing the warm soft skin under the tops she was wearing. He could hear the sound of the blood rushing in his ears, could feel his heart pumping hard and fast. Her tongue slid along his, as she moved her hips, riding his cock with her clothes on. He could feel how wet and hot she was through her shorts.

She ripped her mouth away from his, sitting up, and tearing off the camisole, and tee-shirt she was wearing, in one go. He'd never seen her like this before. She looked incredible; her cheeks flushed; her eyes glazed over from lust – lust she felt for _him_. She was like a gift that he'd been waiting his whole life to unwrap. His hands came up to cup her breasts immediately.

"They're even more perfect that I imagined."

Elena didn't respond; couldn't for the life of her work out how to talk. Her head fell back in ecstasy as he palmed them, and stroked them; he brushed his fingers over each hardened peak, before sitting up so he could take them in his mouth. This was what it was supposed to feel like, Elena thought. This was what had been missing from every other sexual encounter she'd ever had. She rocked her hips back and forth, needing the friction as his mouth tugged at her nipple, his tongue circling the rigid peak. She moaned loudly, and he pulled away and looked at her; his expression so lustful she felt her desire winding tighter and tighter inside her. The need to be filled by him was suddenly overpowering.

"Damon," she breathed. "I need more. I need you."

"We should have done this so long ago," he said to her, whipping his shirt off, and then rolling her underneath him.

Elena shimmied out of her shorts, with his help. He never stopped kissing her, and as soon as she'd shaken them off her legs, his hand went straight to the wet heat between her legs.

"I can't believe how wet you are," he murmured against her mouth.

Elena responded by opening her legs wider, inviting him further in. One finger, then two slid inside her, making her cry out with pleasure. He was finally inside her, she thought. She'd waited twenty-seven years to be touched by a man she was actually in love with. He was the only man she'd ever loved. It had only ever been him. His mouth traveled down her neck, along her collarbone and down to suckle at her breast, while his fingers slicked over her clitoris and pumped in and out of her. Her hips came up off the bed, and she hurtled closer and closer to her orgasm.

"That's it, baby," he told her. "Let it go."

Time and place were completely forgotten as her desire reached its inevitable conclusion. It was a heart stopping, body slamming orgasm that had her pulsating around his fingers, and trembling uncontrollably while she rode it out. She was still shaking slightly, and breathing heavily as Damon began kissing her on the mouth again. Feeling his desire digging into her hip, begging for her touch, she turned on her side so she could more easily run her hands all over him.

"God, yes," he whispered as one hand slipped inside the waistband of his boxers, so she could stroke him.

"You're big," she breathed.

Of course Damon knew he wasn't small, but he felt a stupid amount of pride that she had assessed him and found him not lacking. As soon as she started running her hand up and down his shaft he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

"I need you," he told her.

Elena felt a large amount of amazement that she'd been able to do this to him. He felt lust for her; he felt desire for her. He needed _her_.

"I've only been waiting ten years for you," she told him, as they both worked to take his boxers off.

Then she was underneath him again, and he was between her legs; his eyes locked with hers. It was Damon's intention to inch inside her slowly, bit by bit; to savor and draw out the moment, but when she wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him to complete her, his control slipped away completely. They both moaned with approval as he slid inside her. She was so hot, so wet, so tight. She was so perfect; so perfect for him. He couldn't believe he could have had this ten years ago if he hadn't been so stupidly in denial. And he had been in denial, he decided. This was what he'd wanted and needed all along; no-one else but her. They were supposed to be together. They were meant to be together. He saw the emotion brimming in her eyes. She'd just realized it first, he thought.

"Elena," he whispered.

"I love you," she whispered back.

"I love you too," he told her, stroking the side of her face.

He heard her breath catch, saw the surprise in her eyes. She wasn't the only one who was surprised. It had just been a reaction; it had felt like the most natural thing in the world to say it, but it was true. Now that he'd said it, he knew it was the truth. He was the faceless dude from his dream who wanted to eat her pie, wanted to make her laugh, wanted children, and a home with her. Relief washed through him. That was the real reason he'd been so afraid to lose her. It wasn't just because she was the only person he'd let in; it was because he was he one hundred percent head over heels in love with his best friend.

"Damon?" she questioned as she stared up at him.

"I love you," he told her again, before kissing her, and starting to move.

Elena wrapped her legs around him tighter. He couldn't mean it, could he? He was caught up in the moment; caught up in how good they felt together. Even she had had no idea they would be this good together. She pushed her doubts out of her mind. Nothing mattered right now but how amazing it felt to be with him. He drove himself into her again, and again, and again; their sweat slicked bodies moving together as one; their tongues dancing together, and their hands all over each other. Soon she was being catapulted towards another earth shattering climax. When she went over the edge, she took him with her; the tightening of her body, and her pleasure, taking its toll on any control he had left.

At the end they lay there in each other's arms breathing hard; not speaking. Elena didn't know what to say anyway. Now that she wasn't swept up in his lovemaking and his caress, the doubts were quickly taking their hold on her. Yes, tonight had showed her that he did feel desire for her, but desire wasn't love. It was just too soon, she thought – for him to feel that way about her. Up until at least yesterday, or half way through today, he had been in love with another woman.

He was going to wake up tomorrow and realize he'd been wrong; that he wasn't really in love with her, and that would be terrible for both of them. What if he saw Katherine tomorrow and thought tonight had been a huge mistake? He would feel trapped, and she didn't want that. He had already been trapped by his fears for far too long. Until tonight she hadn't quite comprehended just how much so, and now she was the one feeling like a bad friend.

She had to tell him she wanted his friendship again; that their friendship should be their first priority. She had already forgiven him for the things he'd said. Once he realized she wasn't going to walk away from him again, and that it was his friendship was what she wanted most, he wouldn't feel quite so bad when he realized he couldn't go through with this idea of a relationship with her.

Right now, however, she was in his arms, and she was done talking for the day. She was tired, and her lids were getting heavy. Tomorrow she would let him off the hook; but tonight she would allow herself to be in the arms of the man she loved. She could pretend for one evening that he loved her back; that his heart was hers, and that she wasn't going to spend the rest of her life trying to get over her best friend.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I know it's been too long since I've updated this story, but I've been going through some tough shizzle of late. I apologize profusely for the delay.

I struggled with how to write this chapter. I wrote the chapter and then scrapped it. I wanted to have several things happen in *this* draft, and I didn't end up putting any of them in. I am, however, pleased with the direction the chapter took. This was always how the ninth chapter was meant to go. I was just too much of a ninnymuggins to work it out sooner. I think you'll probably be surprised (not sure in a good way or not).

Thanks to my pre-reader, C, and all my friends/supporters on LJ & Twitter, my reviewers, and of course to all my readers.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**Heaven's Isle, or Heartbreak Isle?**

"Elena."

Elena woke up with a start, and waited for her eyes to focus on the clock beside her. Nine o'clock.

"Elena, I need you to get up now. We're going to be late for breakfast."

She could hear the slight edge of anxiety in Damon's voice. Actually it was closer to panic. Not that she was surprised he felt the need to re-fuel right now; they'd both used up a decent amount of energy last night. She still felt deliciously sated, but it wouldn't take much to convince her she needed him again. Just thinking about the pleasure he'd brought her made her hungry for him all over again. Forget breakfast, she wanted _him_. Did he feel it at all? This intense need to be together again? Her desire to connect with him, and feel him inside of her was overwhelming. She sat up, and smiled at him, but he didn't return her smile.

"Why didn't you wake me?" she asked him, suddenly worried he was upset with her because they were going to be late for breakfast.

"Isn't that what I'm doing right now?" Damon asked her pointedly.

It hit her then. He was up, showered, and ready to leave for breakfast, which was _not_ how this morning was meant to go. _She_ was supposed to have woken up first. _She_ was supposed to be dressed and ready to start their day with the conversation where she let him off the hook for last night. Now, however, it was nine o'clock, and they were late. Worse still, she had this intense, burning desire to be with him again; a need which suddenly felt as if it was about to consume her, but he almost seemed…angry at her.

"We're going to be late, Elena!"

Why wouldn't he meet her eyes?

"Damon, what's going on?"

"We need to go. We're going to be late."

"No, I mean. What's going on with you? Why are you acting like this?"

"Like what?"

"Like…like you're angry with me."

"We don't have time to sit around and talk right now. We did enough of that yesterday."

His tone actually made her gasp. "You're angry with me. Why?"

"Not now," he said tersely. "We. Need. To. Leave."

"Damon-"

"Of course I'm angry at you, Elena," he snapped, turning ice-blue eyes on her. "I mean what did you expect?"

"What did I expect? Damon, I don't understand."

"You tricked me!"

"I tricked you?"

"Yes, Elena, you tricked me. You withdrew your friendship. You forced me to make this move."

"Wh-what move?"

"You _know_ which move, Elena. The whole sleeping with you; and declaring my love for you."

Elena recoiled in horror. "You think I forced you to do that?"

"Didn't you?" he asked her, glaring at her from across the room.

Elena shook her head. "I-"

"You what? What exactly did you think was going to happen when you told me you didn't want to be my friend anymore? You know how much I need our friendship."

"Damon, I never meant-"

"You blackmailed me! What kind of a person does that, Elena? I mean, what kind of a person just throws away thirteen years of friendship because the guy she's in love with doesn't love her back."

She was crying now; she could feel her tears spilling over; felt the warm wet slide of them down her cheeks. "How can you say that, Damon? After everything? After _last night_? I thought you loved me."

"Well, I don't. Not like that."

"Then why did you say you did?"

"I'm hardly going to tell you that I finally got Katherine back, and your little stunt today cost me my one true chance at happiness, am I? Doesn't really have a great ring to it, does it?"

"But you slept with me," she accused.

"I wanted you. I wanted to see what it would be like. I was curious after being friends for so long," he admitted.

"And?"

"I thought maybe I could fall in love with you; maybe I could pretend to feel more for you than friendship. But I'm not in love with you. Never have been, and never will be. I wish I could pretend otherwise, but I can't."

"But we were so good together," she told him. "It felt so good."

"Don't be stupid enough to mistake good sex for love, Elena. You know me better than that. The only person I've ever been in love with is Katherine. If I was ever going to fall in love with you, don't you think it would have happened by now?"

"So you want Katherine?" she asked him, her voice breaking.

"She's the only one I've ever loved. Now you're standing in my way."

* * *

><p>Damon squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to block the noise of someone whimpering. Hang on. Whimpering? He cracked one eye open, but he couldn't see anything but brown. Something was tickling his nose. Hair. Elena's hair. He still had his arms wrapped around her tightly. Her back was to him, just like it had been when they went to sleep. As he remembered how he'd ended up in bed with her, the events of yesterday came rushing back to him; his final revelation of the night hitting him like a steam train.<p>

He was in love; really in love, and it had taken him far, far too long to realize it. His failure to recognize what was in front of him, and act on it, had almost lost him everything. But he was a quick learner. He almost snorted. Okay, most of the time he was a quick learner. It had taken him _ten_ years to learn exactly how his best friend felt about him. Now that he had, however, he didn't intend to let another day go by without showing her he could return her love, _and_ make up for lost time. Starting now.

She was naked in his arms. He could feel her breasts against the arm he had curled under, and around her. His other arm was lying so that his hand rested on her well-toned stomach. The feel of her pressed against him made him ache to be with her all over again. He kissed the back of her head, and heard her make a noise; a whimper. That was what had woken him up. She was upset.

"Elena," he muttered softly.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm so sorry."

Was she awake, or asleep?

"Elena," he said again, more loudly this time.

Elena felt arms tighten around her, as she started waking up. She heard Damon say her name. It had been a dream, she realized; one big, bad dream. Damon hadn't actually said those things to her. She waited for the relief to come; but it didn't. She felt grief as if it had been real. It was a warning, she thought to herself; a reminder that she had to break things off between them before he really did hate her for ruining any chance he had at long lasting happiness.

"Elena, are you awake?" he murmured softly.

"Mmm," she mumbled.

"Will you turn around," he said to her.

She wanted to say no, and run towards the safety of the bathroom; the only place she could hide from him here at the island. However, hurtling towards the bathroom at full speed would probably set his alarm bells clanging, and she needed him to believe she was okay. She needed him to believe that everything she was about to tell him was the truth for her - that she wanted his friendship more than she wanted his love. Her throat tightened painfully. She'd never lied to him before. Never.

"_I'm hardly going to tell you that I finally got Katherine back, and your little stunt today cost me my one true chance at happiness, am I?"_

As she repeated those words to herself, she gathered the courage to turn around so that she was facing him. The moment her eyes met his, however, her courage faded. Awareness cracked between them as they stared at each other. Wow, this was different, she thought. Of course sex changed everything, but this was more than that. It was the way he gently caressed her hip. It was the way he instinctively moved closer to her, and it was the way he was looking at her right now – as if she were _his_; as if his world revolved around her. It took her breath away.

"You want to tell me what's going on?" he said to her.

"What do you mean?"

"You're upset."

He'd been completely oblivious towards how she felt for the past ten years. How was it that he was suddenly reading her right?

"I'm fine," she told him, trying to smile.

He didn't smile back. In fact, he looked worried.

"I heard you crying, Elena. It woke me up."

"Oh."

She'd been crying out loud? Not good.

"Want to tell me why?" he asked her.

"I was asleep," she told him.

"You were dreaming?"

"I must have been," she said, shrugging.

"You don't remember what you were dreaming about?" he asked her.

"I never remember my dreams that well," she told him. "You know that."

It wasn't a lie, but she was deliberately misleading him. It didn't feel nice.

He moved his hand up, and wiped her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Your cheeks are still wet," he murmured. "It must have been a bad dream."

"It must have been," Elena confirmed, after she touched her fingers to her cheek.

Her dream had been the very worst one she'd had. She still felt insanely guilty over the accusations he'd hurled at her in it.

"Lucky for you I'm here to make you feel better," he said, leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips.

Elena felt her heart explode upon contact, and pulled away immediately.

"Elena," he said, stroking the side of her face with his fingertips "What is it? What's wrong? Talk to me. Please."

She had to get out of there. She'd been so sure that ending things between them was the right thing to do, but he was looking at her so intently, stroking the side of her face, and making her feel loved, that she was struggling to do what she needed to do. Her courage had suddenly gone M.I.A, and she needed to find it A.S.A.P. She needed to put some distance between them, emotionally and physically, at least temporarily, so that she could get herself together, and do what she had to do.

"You know, we should start getting ready. It'll be time for breakfast soon," she said to him.

She sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest with one hand, and reached out for Damon's t-shirt since it was the first piece of clothing she could see.

"Elena-"

"I'm fine," she told him again, slipping the t-shirt over her head. "I'm going to get in the shower."

"Great idea," he said to her. "I'll join you."

"I need to shower alone," she told him. "I have to wash my hair."

Elena made a move to get out of the bed, but Damon put his hand on her arm, to stop her from moving. He was worried now; really worried. He hadn't even had time to wonder if everything was okay between them, before she'd made it perfectly clear that it wasn't. She'd been crying, and apologizing as he'd woken her up, obviously having some kind of nightmare; and now she was trying to avoid him. She had to wash her hair? Didn't she know he'd never believe anything so stupid?

Even if she wasn't entirely over what had happened yesterday, and even if he still had a long way to go to make up for the pain he'd caused her, surely last night had gone some way to repairing the damage he'd done to their relationship in the last twenty-four hours. He didn't want to contemplate the fact that it might not have. They didn't need any more conflict, drama or misunderstandings between them. He didn't think he could survive it. This was going to get sorted out right now, starting with a bit of honesty.

"You're scaring me," he said to her. "Last night we had this incredible night together, and now it's like you can't get away from me fast enough. Why?"

Elena sighed.

"And don't tell me everything is fine, and you have to wash your hair. I may have been in denial, but I'm not anymore. I know something's wrong."

Elena closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them, and turned to look at him. God, why was this just so hard? Because she'd been in love with this man for the longest time, and putting a stop to the only thing she'd ever wanted was going to break her heart. How many times had she felt like her heart was breaking while she'd been here on Heaven's Isle? Too many to count. She was going to walk away from this holiday unbelievably bruised and battered emotionally, but she'd chosen to come. How could she have really expected anything different?

"You can tell me," Damon said to her, reaching out to touch her face with his hand. "Whatever this is, whatever is wrong, you can tell me."

Unfortunately, there wasn't a less painful option here, she decided. If she let things go on any longer between them, it would break her heart when he pulled away from her. She may never recover from what she was about to do, but this was for him; for both of them. She didn't want to hold him back. She didn't want to be the reason he was unhappy.

"I think…I think I want us to be friends."

Damon fought the automatic panic rising up inside him. She didn't mean what she just said…did she? He hadn't been dragged through hell and back yesterday, fought tooth and nail against his demons, and realized he was a first-class idiot for not realizing he was in love with his best friend sooner, only for her to turn around and give him an exit. Screw that for a joke. He didn't need an exit; he needed her – body, mind, and soul. Maybe she still doubted him; his motivations. God knows, she shouldn't, but that's what this had to be. There was no other reasonable explanation for this. He had to fix this. Yesterday had been the worst day of his life up until she'd told him to make love to her, and it had been because neither of them had been truthful about what they felt.

"I want us to be friends," he told her, stroking her chin with his thumb. "But I want to be your lover too."

Elena broke eye contact. "You were right about us not ruining our friendship."

"No, I wasn't. I was wrong. So wrong."

"I don't think you were."

"Elena-"

"I was trying to get over you for that reason."

"You were trying to get over me because you thought I don't feel the same way you do, but I do feel that way about you. I'm in love with you."

"I know you think that-"

"I don't _think_ that. I _know _that." Damon told her. "Look at me, Elena," he demanded. "I know this is sudden, but you need to stop doubting me. I've never lied to you. I know this is scary, and I know you're afraid, but we'll be okay."

"And what if we're not?" she asked him.

"We will be."

"I don't want to take the risk," she told him.

"Are you saying you're not going to give us a chance; give _me_ a chance?"

"I want our friendship. I want to go back to the way things were."

Damon shook his head. He couldn't do this again. He just couldn't. They'd come so far yesterday. He'd experienced so much emotional pain yesterday, he still felt raw. Now he felt like he was starting back at the same place he'd been when he'd woken up yesterday – with him losing her; and this time it was worse because there was even more to lose. This time his heart was on the line, and the depression that had been flickering around the edge of his consciousness since he'd arrived on the island threatened to sweep over him with a vengeance. His heart and his brain were telling him he couldn't take it. He couldn't take another day like yesterday. This couldn't be the end for them already; to be over before they'd even begun wasn't their story.

"Well we can't go back to the way things were," Damon told her. "You said that yourself. You want someone you can share your life with, and that person is _me_. I want that with you. I want to marry you, and have children with you. I want it all, Elena, and I want it with _you_."

"You don't know what you're saying."

"No, you don't know what you're saying. I love you. You love me. This should be simple."

"But it's not."

"Because you're making it complicated!"

"I'm not."

"Yes! You are. And it really doesn't need to be, Elena. Give me a chance. Give this a chance."

"I can't," she said to him.

"No. You won't. There's a difference."

Damon got out of the bed, located his boxers on the floor, and put them on. Then he picked up one of his shirts which had been lying on the couch, put that on, along with a pair of shorts.

"I just can't believe this," Damon said to her. "I tell you I'm in love with you, and you run a mile."

"Damon, don't."

"Don't what, Elena?" he asked, sitting on the couch and putting his shoes on. "You think you have dibs on being the only one hurt in all of this?"

He stopped and looked at her; his eyes flashing with anger. "Can you imagine for one second that I feel exactly the way I said I feel?"

Elena swallowed, and tried. She tried to imagine that he was in love with her; but she couldn't.

Damon shook his head. "You're so busy trying to protect your own heart that you don't care about the fact that you're about to break mine."

"You haven't spent the last ten years wishing I was in love with you," she pleaded with him, desperately needing him to understand that. "Yesterday you were in love with Katherine. Now all of a sudden you're in love with me-"

"Yes! I am."

"It's too sudden, Damon!"

"So if I spend the next ten years of my life in love with you, you'll believe me then. Is that what you're saying?"

"No," she denied.

"Because, right now it seems like that's what I'm going to have to do to get you to believe in me; in us." He shook his head. "I need to get out of here. I'll meet you at breakfast."

It was just like her dream, Elena thought; he was so angry with her, and even though she wasn't crying, she wanted to. She'd thought that she'd been doing the right thing. She'd expected him to be a little bit hurt, but not like this. She'd never even once contemplated the idea she might break his heart. How did she become the villain in their story? Friendship was what he'd been saying he wanted from her for the past ten years, and now all of a sudden she was expected to just accept the fact that he loved her like she loved him. It was too difficult to fathom.

She didn't have time to say anything else, before he slammed the bedroom door behind him. She didn't know what they were to each other right now, or what they would ever be after this week was through. Everything between them had been ruined now, and it was all her fault. She couldn't blame anyone else for this. It was all on her. It was her fault for going away with him, and it was her fault for falling in love with him in the first place – her fault for not being able to hide it better. She'd torn them apart. _Her_.

When she'd severed their friendship yesterday she'd been so angry with him, but she couldn't muster one iota of that anger now. She had to admit she had no idea whether she'd made the right decision. She'd made such a mess of everything. She loved him, and she needed him. She'd been trying to protect him, and yes, protect herself as well. He meant so much to her. He always had. Feeling like she loved him more than he loved her made her feel far too vulnerable, and perhaps there was more truth behind the words she'd spoken to him earlier than she'd first realized. Returning to their former state as friends again would be safer for her. It would break her heart, but being with him if he didn't feel the same way, would break her heart even more. She felt so lost.

The heartbreak, the hurt, and the blame bounced around inside her as she got ready to walk out the door. When she was presentable, she made her way downstairs, but before she got to the dining room, she faltered. She just wasn't ready to see him and speak to him yet. She didn't know what to say, or how to deal with the situation. She slipped out one of the side doors of the large house, and started to walk along the beach, only to almost trip over him. It simply seemed impossible to escape him at all on the island. He looked as lost as she felt right now.

She dropped down next to him, and looked out to sea. The waves crashed upon the shore. It was still dark and cloudy overhead, and the wind whipped at the water. Yesterday the storms had been brutal; both the one on the island, and the one between them. She couldn't weather another one storm between them today.

"I can't do what we did yesterday. It was too much," she told him.

"You're right," he told her. "It was too much. Yesterday I started off the day depressed because you'd been pulling away from me. I thought I was still in love with Katherine. Then I found out you've been in love with me for the last ten years. Then you ended our friendship, and _then_ I realized I was in love with you. I wouldn't have minded going through all that but this morning you decide that you would rather have my friendship than my love."

"Damon-"

"I know you're scared, but I'm scared too. I'm terrified, Elena. You know me better than anyone. I've spent our whole friendship making sure you didn't get that extra bit closer and realize that you don't like me; that I'm not worth your time. But losing you yesterday made me realize that I could conquer that fear; that I'd been hiding what I felt for you, from you, and from myself. And now today you turn around and tell me _you're_ too afraid to take the next step, after wanting more for so long."

They both sat in silence for a moment, staring at the water, before he continued.

"You told me yesterday that you'd been hoping it was you I would fall in love with. Well here I sit, in love with you, wanting you, and you don't want me anymore, or what I can offer you. I hope to God that it is just fear talking or I could choose to believe you've taken one look behind the curtain and decided you don't really like what you see. You've had all of me now, Elena. Last night I gave you everything. I didn't hold back like I do with everyone else, so if you reject me, you reject all of me. I don't know how I'll survive that Elena."

He'd been so honest with her that Elena couldn't help but feel she owed him that much in return. They'd been friends for the last thirteen years. Her honesty was the least she could give him.

"This morning when I woke up, I was having a bad dream," she told him.

"I know you were."

"I let you believe that I didn't remember it. But I did. You were mad at me; angry – furious even."

"For what?" he asked her.

She continued to stare out at the sea, unable to look at him while she voiced her biggest fears.

"You told me you thought I'd blackmailed you into starting a relationship by threatening to withdraw my friendship. You told me I'd ruined your one chance at happiness; that you were still in love with Katherine."

"But I'm not in love with Katherine, Elena. Obviously until yesterday I thought I was, but I was wrong. I never once felt about Katherine the way I feel about you. I know that's hard for you to believe, but you have to try."

"I want to. I really want to, but it's too good to be true," she told him, still staring at the waves. "Or at least that's how this feels, Damon. I have spent the last ten years in love with you."

"I know."

"That's ten years of watching you with other women; ten years of wanting you for myself, and of waiting to see if you could ever love me back the way I love you." She laughed humorlessly. "You'd think I'd be ecstatic today, but I'm not. I'm terrified that you're going to wake up tomorrow, or next week, or next year, and realize you were deluding yourself; that you don't love me the way I love you, and that you never will."

He reached over and took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers together. Encouraged, she kept talking.

"I'm afraid that you're going to take one look at Katherine today and wish you were with her and not me, and remember that it's her you're in love with."

He squeezed her fingers gently, and she took a deep breath, and then turned to look at him. Their eyes locked, and her heart lurched in her chest.

"But most of all I'm afraid that you're going to break my heart so badly, I'll never live to tell the tale."

Damon felt like his heart hadn't stopped hurting since he woke up this morning, but after hearing her tell him how she felt, his heart hurt even more. He'd been in love with her now for less than half a day (that he'd actually been aware of), and the idea that he might not get to be with her felt like it was going to break him. He couldn't imagine going through another day of wanting her and not having her.

What would it be like to be her, he wondered? What would it be like to have been feeling this way for ten years? He couldn't imagine. No wonder she wasn't leaping for joy like he had been this morning. She'd been on this rollercoaster ride for a decade. She was afraid she'd had all the heartbreak she could take. She'd come to Heaven's Isle ready to let go of him, and move on, only to finally have him tell her he wanted to be with her now. Could he really feign surprise that she wasn't entirely ready to let go of this notion of moving on? She'd even been ready to start dating other guys, or she had been before she came here. She'd signed up with Caroline's dating agency before she'd left. Jealousy ripped through him at the thought of her on a date with someone else, but he pushed it away. Jealousy wasn't going to do him any good now. What he had to do was put himself in her shoes, and try and give her whatever it was she wanted. If he had to wait ten years for her, then he would wait ten years for her. He would wait for her forever, because he would never love another woman the way he loved her.

He squeezed her hand again. "I will wait for you," he told her. "If you want me to wait ten years for you, I will. I will sit back, and I will pine, as you say, for you. I will watch and hurt as you date other guys. I will sit and suffer silently, all the while offering you my friendship, if that's what you want. I am in love with you. One day I'll tell you that, and you'll believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you, Damon."

"It is," he told her. "And I can understand why you don't trust that after everything being so one-sided for so long, so I will wait. Until you're ready. Until you know it's the truth."

Elena took a moment to study him, hardly believing her ears, but his gaze was intense, and she found she didn't doubt the sincerity with which he'd spoken. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Absa-fucking-lutely," he said to her, grinning.

She couldn't help but grin back at him, but then he stopped grinning, and looked at her seriously.

"Of course if you wanted to throw caution to the wind and just try and take my word for it, you'd save me ten years of suffering. You'd save me what you've been through."

"I'm so scared," she whispered.

"Me too," he told her softly. "I'm more afraid of you and me than I've been afraid of anything in my life. But that only tells me that it's right."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, and she felt electricity pulse through her. Would he really wait ten years for her? He would. She knew he would. God knew he could be so stubborn when he wanted to be. Just on principle he would wait. He would wait her out, and he would watch her, just like he'd said. As if sensing her resolve starting to crumble, he kept talking.

"We could try it," he said to her. "We're here together on this island. We're meant to be a couple in front of everyone. Why not test everything out?" he asked her. "Be with me here. Be my lover. Can we at least have this week before you make up your mind about whether you believe I'm in love with you or not?"

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><p>AN: I'm *hoping* the next chapters will be fun to read, and far less angsty. This was going to be a ten chapter story. It won't be now, but I have no desire to draw out the story past its finish. I'll keep you posted on that front. Thanks for reading, and please review.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I just wanted to say how awed, and touched I am, that so many of you have relayed your personal experience to me, because of this fic. Thanks for sharing your stories. Thanks for all the love, the reviews, the alerts, the favorites, and most importantly, for reading. I don't know many of you by name, but I appreciate every one of you.

Massive, massive, massive thanks to to _aj81writing_, for reading through, and for her suggestions, to Daisy, also for reading through, and her advice, and constant encouragement, and to all my twitter pals, who put up with my strange tweets, and eccentricities.

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

**A Point to Prove**

"_We could try it. Be my lover. Can we have this week?"_

Elena heard Damon's words run together in her head, and felt her knees go weak at the thought of what he was offering her; a week of them being together; a week to explore his newfound feelings for her – a week of being able to explore _him_. The image of what that would involve made her feel very, very hot. Even in the cool morning air blowing off the water, she could feel her cheeks suddenly burning. It was hard to suppress the excitement that was fighting to take hold of her. The word yes teetered on the edge of her tongue.

"You have to say yes, Elena."

The anxiety she heard in his voice made her pause, reminding her of how much there was at stake; of how much pain and hurt there had been between them recently. She didn't want any more pain. She didn't want to hurt anymore. She'd hurt for so long that the ache she felt from loving him was almost part of her being. Almost. She wanted this week with him, but what would it do to her, or to both of them, if she said yes and it didn't work out? Then again, would the week end any less painfully if her answer was _no_? Somehow she didn't think so.

He wasn't going to give up on them. He'd made that clear. He believed he was in love with her. Be it in ten years, or now, he was going to keep pushing her until she gave them; or rather, him, a chance. It may as well be now. Her heart did a somersault as she realized there was no other answer to give him but yes. Yes. Her answer had to be yes. Yes, she would spend the next week giving in to the dreams she'd held in her heart for so long. Yes, she would risk having her heart broken. All her fears might be realized this week, but if Damon was going to break her heart wasn't it better to know now rather than later?

The excitement which had been brewing inside her since he posed the question to her now held her completely in its grasp. Along with the excitement, she felt nerves, and she felt lust; lust stronger than anything she'd ever experienced in her life. She'd put so much energy into controlling, regulating, and hiding the sexual desire she'd felt for him for the last ten years, it was like her body was ready to explode now that she didn't have to suppress it any longer. If they were going to do this, she would take what he was offering, and more. He'd been her fantasy for ten years, and she was going to let herself enjoy every minute while she could.

Her eyes swept over him now, devouring him hungrily. His hair was slightly messy after being blown about by the wind. His jaw was dusted with dark stubble, because he hadn't shaved before he'd stormed out of their room this morning. The black t-shirt he was wearing was so tight she could see the outline of his biceps and his pecs. Her gaze dropped even lower, to his shorts, and she found herself biting her lip as she remembered exactly how big he was, and how he'd moved last night when he was inside of her. She reluctantly drew her eyes back to his face. Between the stubble, his black t-shirt, and his raven colored hair, he looked like a dark prince who was capable of doing the most sinfully wicked things to her. The look on his face was intense, and she realized she still had to give him her answer.

"Okay then," she said to him breathlessly. "Yes."

Damon would have breathed easy; would have reveled in the relief he felt in the moment, if it wasn't for the way he noticed her eyes were now dark beyond recognition. All the blood left his head and traveled south so fast he felt dizzy. Then he remembered he had the green light. More than the green light, the situation called for him to never hold back again. He'd been incapable of ignoring the surge of attraction he'd had since he picked her up on the way to the airport. Now he surrendered to it with joy.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her immediately. She responded with so much fire and passion as she melted into him, and he was again reminded of how much time they'd lost. He didn't ever want to let her go, and he had so much to prove to her this week. He couldn't let himself be daunted by it. He knew how he felt. All he had to do was act on it. She was sitting in his lap now, and he turned her around to face him, the skirt she was wearing now fanned out around her, providing excellent coverage as she straddled him. He pulled her closer to him, so that she was right against him, chest to chest; his erection pressing against her through the thin material of her panties. She moaned at the contact, and moved her hips, clearly trying to get off on him, which resulted in even more blood being pumped south.

Elena had spent the last ten years holding back. Ever since she'd seen him leave the Summer Breeze dance with someone else, she'd wished he wanted her the way he wanted her now. She was going to take this week by the horns, she decided, and jump him every chance she had. Forget about breakfast. Forget about the rest of the day. She'd waited too long for him to wait another moment. Elena rubbed her tongue against his; her hands roaming his chest. Her fingers grazed over his nipples through the t-shirt he was wearing, before she moved them under his shirt to stroke his stomach. The grunt of approval he made had her so hot she thought she might combust.

With one thing in mind her hands went to the ties knotted at the top of his shorts. All she could think about was getting him inside her as quickly as possible.

"Here?" he asked against her lips.

His voice was so rough, and obviously affected by lust, that she felt her panties grow even damper than they were. She couldn't wait to get back to the room. She couldn't wait until tonight. She didn't care that anyone could walk past, or see what they were doing if they walked to the farthest end of the patio at the house. She needed him now. She pulled away and looked at him. This morning she'd woken up ready to suppress her deepest desires in the hopes of maintaining their friendship, and protecting his happiness, but seeing the hungry way he was looking at her now made her think that this was definitely the better choice. He cupped her face and brought it back to his, so he could kiss her again.

"Here," she confirmed breathlessly between kisses. "I need you now."

She worked to free him from the confines of his short and boxers, and Damon felt his heart rate double as she began to stroke him. Her touch was magic, and Damon thought there was something to say about getting a hand job from the person who knew you better than anyone else in the entire world. He reached under her skirt to touch her. Her panties were soaking wet, and when he slipped his finger inside the elastic, to touch her slick, heated flesh, he just about lost it.

She arched her back so he had a better angle to touch her and he couldn't resist sliding his index finger into her. His cock was throbbing so hard between the feel of her pulsating around him and what she was doing to him. She collected the pre-cum which was spilling over the side, before massaging it into him so she could stroke him better. Their kisses grew more and more frantic as he slid yet another finger into her. Anymore of this mutual touching and he wasn't going to last much longer. She must have sensed it herself because she moved so that she was kneeling over him. He felt the brush of her hand against him as she pulled her underwear to the side, and then he could feel her honeyed heat against the tip of his cock.

Elena didn't think she'd ever been more turned on than she was right now. She was so acutely aware of everything, from the grains of sand pressing into her knee, to the sound of the waves lapping at the shore, and the smell of the sea. Her nipples were taught peaks pressed against his chest. Her thighs were trembling from the effort of not sinking straight down on to his length. They were both breathing hard, and their eyes were locked as their foreheads rested against each other. She wouldn't ever forget this moment. She was torn between wanting it to last forever, and sliding onto him to ride him into oblivion and beyond. In the end he made the decision for her when he grasped her hips, urging her to move onto his thick cock.

"Elena."

She'd never heard him say her name like that; filled with so much raw need and desire, and lust. The rush of power she experienced from it was heady, and dizzying. She bit her lip as she gave them what they both wanted and she started to lower herself onto him, her right hand moving up to curl around one of his magnificent biceps as she slid further onto his length. The noise he made in the back of his throat, once she'd taken him the whole way inside her, caused her to clamp down on him.

"Fuck. Elena."

Damon palmed her breasts as Elena began to roll her hips softly. She leaned forwards, and kissed him, slipping her tongue between his teeth as he opened his mouth to her. Kissing became more difficult, however, as she picked up speed. Keeping one hand on her breast, Damon used his other to slide the hair off her shoulder, and push her t-shirt down her arm so he could kiss her bare shoulder. Thank god they'd come here, Damon thought. He couldn't imagine that he might not have discovered how she felt about him, or how _he_ felt about her; that he might not have had the chance to be with her like this. The last two days had been so full of hurt and pain, but the love and the connection they shared right now was more powerful than anything else he'd ever been part of. She was riding him freely with abandon now. One of his hands skimmed down her side to settle on her hips as the other slipped under her skirt to rub circles over her clit.

"Come for me, Elena."

Her eyes locked with his for one short moment, and Damon felt his temperature rise even further, before she held fast to his shoulders, threw her head back, and screamed his name. He spilled himself inside her immediately.

They stayed as they were for a long time afterward. Elena's legs felt like jelly, and Damon held her against him, her head resting on his shoulder until she could find the strength to move off, and sit beside him. Once Damon had tied up the front of his shorts, he put his arm around her and she leaned into him. She was so lost in the beauty of the ocean, and the warmth of the man next to her; her skin still heated from his touch, and her body still sated from the moment they'd shared, that she didn't see them until they were right in front of her.

"Well, isn't this cosy?"

Elena looked up so fast she felt dizzy. There they were; Stefan _and_ Katherine. Because obviously running into one of them at a time was too much to ask for. Damon's arm tightened around her.

"It was," Damon said, letting his annoyance show.

Seeing Stefan made Damon remember the events of yesterday far too well. He'd lost Elena, and their friendship for a moment, and Stefan had been prowling around ready to wedge himself between them, and make sure she forgot about him quick enough. Well, that wasn't going to happen today. He had no intention of ever letting Elena get over him, but what if he failed to convince her of how he felt? He suddenly felt wracked with nerves as he remembered how much losing her for that short time had hurt. What if she didn't believe him by the time they had to leave? What if seeing Katherine every day, and being reminded of his feelings of the other woman undid all of his efforts?

"I came to your room. Came looking for you," Stefan said to Elena. "But you weren't there."

"Obviously. Since she's here with me," Damon said, in a way that implied Stefan was beyond stupid.

Elena could practically hear the eye roll.

"I told you she'd be with him," Katherine said rudely, as if she and Damon weren't there.

"You're a genius," Damon said. "Now, why don't you hurry up and figure out that neither of us want you here, and get lost."

Stefan ignored him. "Elena, can I talk to you?"

Damon wrapped his other hand around her wrist so she couldn't move. There was no _way_ he was letting her walk off with Stefan. He couldn't risk Stefan saying _anything_ that might upset her or make her question things between them again.

"Whatever you want to say, just say it. Then leave," Damon told him.

"What happened to the two of you not being friends anymore?" Stefan asked Elena.

Damon tried not to feel annoyed that Elena had told Stefan about the 'end' of their friendship. Was it so much to ask for that it stay between the two of them? To be fair, she had been very angry with him yesterday. He'd hurt her badly; and that was all the more reason to make sure Stefan and Katherine left immediately. He didn't want her to have to question his feelings for her ever again, and he knew seeing the two of them would cause her to do that. Unfortunately, the fact that Stefan knew so much meant he wasn't going to give up easily. In fact, judging by the determined expression on his face, he wasn't going to stop until he'd caused as much trouble as he could.

"I changed my mind," Elena said.

"She's with me," Damon said. "We're together. Let it be."

"I thought you wanted to get over him," Stefan said to Elena.

"My relationship with Damon isn't really any of your business, Stefan."

"She'll never get over him," Katherine said. "It's pathetic."

"You're pathetic, Katherine," Damon said. "And if I didn't make it clear last night, you disgust me."

"You're the one who came here intent on making me jealous."

"That was a mistake," Damon told her. "One I'm extremely sorry for."

"Damon wants what he can't have," Stefan said. "Now that he can have you, he doesn't want you anymore."

"I know what I want," Damon said. "I have what I want," he said, lowering his voice a little, as he relaxed his grip on Elena's wrist so he could take her hand in his.

"For now," Stefan said. "Yesterday it was a different tune you were singing."

"I was an idiot, and in denial yesterday."

Damon didn't care to justify himself to Stefan; would never bother to give the other man an explanation if things were different, but considering the circumstances he thought it was important for Elena to hear him explain it. He'd explain it again, and again, if he needed to.

"Wow," Stefan said to Elena. "I don't believe you're actually buying this."

Elena glared at Stefan. Yes, she'd said she'd spend the week with him, but she didn't owe him anything, and it wasn't Stefan's place to act the way he was – as if he knew and understood the situation better than she did. He didn't know Damon. He didn't know her, and he certainly didn't know the complexities of their friendship.

"This isn't about me buying anything, Stefan. I'm with Damon because I want to be."

Stefan's laugh lacked humor, and he shook his head at her. "It's a mistake, Elena. He told me himself he doesn't see you that way."

"He told me the same thing," Katherine told her. "More than once."

"Because you were a jealous bitch," Damon said.

"Or because it was the truth. Who knows with you, Damon," Stefan said.

Stefan turned back to Elena. "You know yesterday, before we got on the boat, Damon and I bumped into each other. When I told him Katherine and I were over, he was ecstatic. Then when I mentioned I was interested in you, he told me he was going to forget Katherine and make you his girlfriend. He was boasting about how you were in love with him."

Damon had never given a second thought to that conversation until now. He wanted to kill Stefan; not only for bringing it up, but for his lies and exaggeration of the truth. But should he have expected any less? Stefan had far too much insight into their friendship; and he was using Elena's insecurities to make her doubt what was between them, just as he had yesterday. Now Damon was sure that not even his heated encounter with Elena from minutes ago was going to be enough to make sure she didn't give Stefan's comments more than a passing thought; not when she was so skittish already.

The dream she'd relayed to him earlier revealed exactly how frightened and scared she was about whether his feelings for her were genuine or not. He felt sick at the implications of Stefan's comments. Would he never catch a break here? And just what could Damon say to either Stefan or Katherine that they both wouldn't jump all over? Everything would sound false. Yesterday he'd been chasing Katherine, convinced he was in love with her. Today he _knew_ he was in love with Elena.

Damon had so much adrenaline pumping through him now that he was seriously considering ramming his fist into Stefan's face. The only thing that stopped him from doing that was what Elena said next.

"I don't believe you," she said. "Damon wouldn't do that."

"No?" Stefan asked.

"No."

"You're a fool. Damon doesn't know what he wants. Everything is a game. All he knows is that he wants you because I wanted you."

Damon was up in the blink of an eye, and without thinking about it, Elena stood up too, immediately putting her hand on his arm to calm him.

"Forget it," Elena told Damon, looking at Stefan. "He's not worth it."

"We could have had something," Stefan told Elena. "Don't come to me when he loses interest in you. And he will."

"You'll regret this," Katherine said to Damon, before she looked at Elena. "Both of you will. He'll be begging me to take him back within the week. Where will your precious friendship be then?"

Stefan and Katherine gave them one last look, before they began to walk away. Damon turned to Elena immediately, cupping her face between his hands.

"Tell me you don't believe them."

Elena swallowed. She didn't know which part of the conversation he was referring to. She didn't believe that Damon would have been boasting about the fact that she had feelings for him, or Stefan's implication that she was a game. When it came to everything else, however, she was a little less sure. She simply couldn't be certain that Damon wouldn't lose interest in her after a while, or that this might ruin their friendship, or that Damon wouldn't decide he wanted Katherine back at some point, but it didn't change the way she felt about this week.

"I don't believe you said those things."

Damon nodded. "You know me better than that."

"I do," she told him.

He brushed his lips over her, before pulling away to look at her. "I was so scared," he told her. "Scared they were going to make you change your mind."

It was Elena's turn to shake her head. She'd been right to give in to him. They were here. They needed to act like they were together. She'd wanted this for so long, and she was going to take this week, and love him like she'd always wanted to.

"I told you my answer was yes. I want to have this week with you."

He frowned at her. "We'll have more than this week, Elena. We'll have as long as you give me."

She nodded, but Damon was suddenly worried she had the idea that this was a weeklong thing, and that was all. It was all he'd asked for, but what if it wasn't enough? What if he failed in his mission to make her see she was the only woman he would want for the rest of his life? He had to stop this, he thought, or he was going to go crazy. He was in love with her, and everything he did over the next few days would show her that. How could it not? He felt it to the very depths of his soul.

She needed to see that he was different with her than he was with every other woman he'd been with. Even Katherine. _Especially Katherine_. And that meant he was going to have to do the one thing he'd never done before in his life; the one thing he'd made it his rule to avoid – he was going to have to wear his heart on his sleeve, and let himself be open and vulnerable with someone. With her. Even now, the thought didn't sit easy with him, but he had to learn, and he had to learn quickly. He needed to be completely transparent when it came to everything he felt for her. Easier said than done. For the better part of his life he'd never let anyone the whole way in. Not even Elena. But he had to start now.

"Come on," he said to her.

"Where are we going?"

"We've had enough angst to last us for the rest of our lives. It's time to have fun."

When they landed on Heaven's Isle he'd suggested it was the perfect place for her to get over her mystery man. Now, however, he couldn't help but think that Heaven's Isle was the perfect place for her mystery man to show her just how much he loved her back.

* * *

><p>Two days later, Damon was holding Elena in his arms after several hours spent getting to know his best friend in the most intimate way possible. The last two days had been incredible. Aside from the fact that they hadn't been able to spend every available minute in bed together, and aside from the fact that they'd had to attend some odd group bonding exercises, they were having the holiday of their lives. Elena wasn't holding back with him at all, and he was finding it far too easy to slide from the role of best friend, to lover. Far too easy.<p>

Even as she looked up and kissed him softly, he felt lust stir through him for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. His hand now rested on her hip, and he found himself caressing her stomach with his thumb when Elena suddenly pulled away from him, sat up, and then raced into the bathroom.

"You okay, Lena?" he called.

"Mmphmm."

Damon got up out of bed quickly, thinking Elena was about to be sick, but when he got to the bathroom door, he found her putting something back in her make-up purse.

"What was that?"

"Umm, the pill. I should have taken it two hours ago, but-"

"We were busy," Damon said with a smirk.

"Yes, we were," Elena said, smirking back at him.

It was a shock to Damon that he had completely forgotten about contraceptives. They hadn't even registered on his radar, and considering the amount of sex they'd been having, he supposed they should have. It reminded him of the dream he'd had their first night here; where he'd been looking through the window into the house with Elena, her mystery man, and their children. A sense of longing swept through him, surprising him with its intensity. He hadn't ever given too much thought to having children, but the idea was quickly becoming appealing.

Even now he was unable to keep from admiring the curves of her body and picturing her belly swollen with his child. The thought was all too arousing, and as she went to walk past him, he trapped her against the doorway of the bathroom. She moaned when she felt just how aroused he was. He buried his face in her neck, before pulling back to look at her.

"You know," he said softly, "if you end up pregnant while we're here, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, Elena."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Thanks to my beta-readers AJ and Jenn (ElvishGrrl). Their works are amazing. Check them out if you can handle the awesomeness. Thanks for the feedback from my pre-readers LokYa and ohemgeeitscoley. **

**Also worth a mention – the KMBMH prayer circle on Twitter for their…well, prayers, and ayna93 for her quiet and consistent support on updating this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

**I Need A Real Chance**

"Are you serious?" Elena asked him, her heart skipping into overdrive at the thought.

"A little boy, or girl. You, me, and a family, 'Lena."

Elena allowed herself to indulge in the fantasy Damon's words conjured; a fantasy somewhat aided by the fact that she could feel his erection pressed against her. Seeing or feeling him aroused was all it took for her to want and need him all over again. Damon picked up on it immediately, a slow smirk spreading over his face. He was now so completely in tune with her – he never missed a beat, never failed to realize the effect he had on her. He'd been oblivious to her desire for so long, but now he read her as if they'd been lovers forever.

The thought shouldn't scare her, but it did. Then again, whenever she let herself think beyond this week she could feel the fear and the doubts settling back in. That wasn't fair to either of them. She wanted to live in the moment while they were here, and enjoy what was happening between them. She was doing her best to stay focused on the here and the now. She didn't want to contemplate what might happen when they returned home. She wasn't prepared to. Not now. Why ruin everything with dreams or promises that may not come true?

"Damon-"

"I'm not saying we should try, only that I wouldn't hate it if it happened."

"I know. It's just that…I'm having so much fun with you," she said to him, smiling to let him know just how happy she was with the way things were between them right now. "I just want us to enjoy this week."

"In other words, we don't get to talk about the future while we're here?"

Damon cursed silently as he watched Elena's smile waver. Of course they weren't allowed to talk about the future. How could he have possibly forgotten that this whole week was just a trial run, a test? That he was supposed to be convincing Elena that he loved her and cared about her, and that his feelings for her were genuine? Yet, for a moment he _had_ forgotten, because he was already so certain of his love for her. He felt no doubt.

He tried to shrug off the disappointment, regret, and hurt that she wasn't convinced he loved her already. It wasn't like he could really expect to make up for ten years of rejection with a few days of loving her, could he? _So, what makes you think you can convince her in a week, you idiot?_

Why had he only asked for a week? What if she still didn't want to talk about the future when they left the island in a few days? What if she didn't give him a chance when they got back home? What if she told him she thought they should stop seeing each other and go back to being just friends?

He felt desperation trying to claw its way out of him. It was too damn easy to screw this up.

"I want to take each day as it comes. Is that okay?" she asked him.

She was watching him nervously, as if she was afraid that her response wasn't what he wanted to hear. Well, of course it wasn't what he wanted to hear. "_I'm having fun right now, and I just want to enjoy the week,_" wasn't among the top ten survey responses to the suggestion of children. And despite the fact that she didn't mean it as a rejection, it still felt like one.

It was this fear of rejection that had made him keep everybody at a distance his whole life, but he'd lost Elena once already by acting that way. He knew the devastation he would face if he lost her again. His only option was to keep trying his new approach – the one involving him being open and vulnerable with her – _no matter how much it scared the absolute shit out of him_.

Time was running out. He didn't have time to panic_._ He had to be patient and demonstrative. After all, how could he expect her to conquer her fears if he couldn't conquer his own?

"Damon?"

"I understand that you don't want to talk about the future right now."

"You do?" she asked him, sounding relieved.

"Yes, I do, but I can't help wanting to talk about it with you," he told her.

"Damon…"

"This thing between us is so new and exciting for me, 'Lena. I've never felt this way before. I've never wanted someone the way I want you. I've never imagined sharing my life with anyone the way I imagine sharing it with you. It's easy for me to forget we're only dealing with right now – that we're not supposed to be thinking about what happens next."

Her gaze was so soft and tender, but also uncertain. "But children, Damon? Even if we were talking about the future, it's too soon."

"Okay, so I jumped the gun a little."

She smiled gently at him. "A little? We've only been together for two days."

"But you've been in love with me for ten years. And I have no idea how long I've loved you and just never realized it. I know you better than anyone. We've been friends for so long."

The mood for lovemaking having passed somewhat, Damon stepped away from her before walking to the bed and slipping into it. Elena followed him and slid into bed beside him. Automatically, they turned on their sides so that they were facing each other.

"It's just that I've never once heard you talk about children before this week," she told him.

"Things change," he said to her, before raising an eyebrow and stroking her face. He felt gratified when she closed her eyes, her enjoyment of his touch obvious.

"You're telling me you want children?"

"One day, yes."

Her eyes opened and locked with his. "When did you make that decision?"

He shrugged. "I don't know exactly. I had a dream a few nights back," he admitted. "The first night we were here I dreamt that I was watching you and your Mr. X with a family."

"You dreamt about my Mr. X?" she asked him, her amusement evident. "What did he look like? Did he look like you, or did he look more like Damien Price?"

Damon couldn't help but smile at the reference to the insurance salesman he'd asked her about on the same night. He'd been so determined to guess the identity of her mystery man. He'd been such a dumb-ass.

"I couldn't see his face," he told her. "It was as if it had been blanked out."

"He was faceless? You really didn't think much of my taste, did you?" she joked.

"It was my nightmare, 'Lena," he said to her seriously. "He was sitting down at a dining room table with you and your two children, eating a meal, while I was starving and trapped out in the cold, watching you."

"That was the dream that I woke you up from?" Elena asked him.

"I was pounding on the window and trying to get you to let me in, but you couldn't hear me."

The symbolism of his dream was glaringly obvious to Elena. He'd been afraid that her involvement with her mystery man would leave him hungry, cold, and alone – in other words abandoned all over again. His fear of being abandoned and rejected was so strong. How would she ever know if his desire to be with her was born out of his love for her, or his fear of losing her?

See, this was exactly why she didn't want to think about the future. They'd had two perfect days, but doubt and uncertainty lingered on the fringe of her consciousness, and it would gnaw away at her if she let it. She had to keep a firm grip on the doubts, for the rest of the week at least. She closed her eyes, and tried to push them away now. She could do this. She'd told him she would give him this week and she would.

"Elena?"

Damon watched the emotions flickering across her face as she sat beside him, the uncertainty he dreaded clouding her eyes as she looked back at him. _He had to keep pushing through her doubts._

"Tell me what you're thinking," he said when she remained quiet.

"Nothing," she told him.

"We've spent the past ten years hiding how we feel, or denying it. Can we at least be honest with each other now?"

She sighed. "I was just thinking about your dream…about what it meant."

"And?"

"And it really doesn't matter what I think."

"Of course it matters what you think. I want to hear it."

"They were just silly thoughts."

"I don't care. I want to hear them."

"I was just thinking your dream showed that you might have been afraid. Afraid that if I was with someone else, I'd abandon you, forget you."

Of course she would see it that way, Damon thought. He'd shared something with her and she'd seen it as evidence to back up her beliefs that his desire to be with her was about his fear of losing her. Patience, he reminded himself. This week he would have to have unfailing patience.

He loved her, and she would see it. He had to believe that she would see it. He would give her the time. He would give her anything she wanted. But he wouldn't let her lie there and slip into thinking that what he felt wasn't genuine without a fight.

"Or," he said to her, "you could look at it as my jealousy over what this other man had with you – of what I wanted, but didn't know consciously."

Elena nodded, not wanting to argue with him. He would want her to see it that way.

"You're supposed to be giving me a chance, 'Lena," he said to her gently. "A real chance."

"I am."

"Are you?"

"Yes."

"If you keep looking for proof that I'm with you because I'm afraid of losing you, you're going to find it," he pointed out. "Do us both a favor and start looking for the proof that I'm head over heels in love with you, because it's there too. I need a real chance, Elena."

Elena was trying her hardest to believe that this was all real. She _wanted_ to believe it was real. She was trying to keep the doubts at bay, she really was. It just wasn't always as easy as she would like – as he wanted it to be.

She'd come to Heaven's Isle prepared to let him go because she'd thought he loved someone else. Letting go of that idea, and truly believing his heart belonged to her was slightly terrifying. But that didn't mean she didn't want to. She hated the idea that she was robbing both of them of their happiness by being so terrified that she actually missed the signs she was supposed to see.

"I know you're afraid," he said to her softly, "but I need you to let go. I need you to let me in and be open to this."

"I know. I really am trying. I do want to see it," she told him determinedly. "I do."

"Then see it," he told her warmly as he stared into her eyes.

Elena didn't know what else to say, so she did what she'd done every time she felt scared or unsure or insecure over the past two days – she reached for him. She put one hand behind his head so she could drag his mouth to hers. He resisted only for a second, before he gave her what she wanted – the chance to lose herself in his kiss.

Her body's response to him was always so overwhelming that she forgot everything else around them existed. It was the way her heart beat out a crazy tattoo. It was the sudden rush of her blood around her body, and the warmth that came right along with it. It was the sudden thrum of energy sizzling along her skin where it touched his, and the way his arousal excited her beyond anything else she'd ever experienced. But most of all it was the way that when he was inside her, every single fear melted away in the face of her ecstasy.

Damon knew exactly what Elena was doing. She was looking for assurance in the one area she knew how to take it – their physical relationship.

She'd taken the upper hand and initiated their sexual encounters so much over the past few days, and he'd thought it was her confidence in them growing – that she wanted to explore him in a way that she had never felt able to before. But now he realized that it was something more than that. She found it easier to hide her doubts and fears and forget they existed when they were being intimate.

He wanted to bring it to her attention, but little nips and bites and soft kisses quickly turned into long, slow, melting kisses that turned him inside out. If this was what she needed, he would let her take it. If he had to make love to her ten times a night for the rest of his life to make her feel safe and loved, then that was what he would do. At least she was looking for assurance. At least she'd told him she wanted to see his love for her.

He shouldn't be surprised by the fact that she felt somewhat assured when they were in the bedroom. His response to her was so swift and so obvious that she couldn't deny that his lust at least was very real.

Every time he was near her he couldn't think past merging his body with hers. She was already lying partly underneath him now, and it was easy enough to move so that he was between her legs, the tip of him immediately sliding against her hot and wet center. He almost exploded as she tried to push onto him.

"Damon."

He heard the desperation in her voice – the blatant need to have him inside of her. If it was any other time he might have enjoyed teasing her a little, torturing her with his kisses and with his touch, but right now she needed this, and he did too. Tonight, though, he had no intention of letting her _avoid_ her doubts through their lovemaking. Tonight, he would make her face the love he felt for her. He wasn't going to give her a chance to turn away from it – to miss it.

Her hands and mouth were greedy and desperate on him, willing him to go through with what he'd started, but he waited for her to look right at him before he surged into her waiting heat, filling her to the hilt. She responded with nothing more than a moan of complete and utter satisfaction and fulfillment; her body embracing his in every possible way.

"I love you, Elena," he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

When her eyes locked with his again he knew she was hearing him, seeing him, feeling him. One day very soon he hoped she would _believe_ him.

* * *

><p>Elena couldn't stop giggling as Damon dipped her on the dance floor. He smirked down at her, his eyes twinkling mischievously as he held her there. The beat of the music could be felt under her feet, and her heart felt as if it was dancing in her rib cage. The loud Latin music was causing quite a stir and the majority of the Smith's guests had gathered on the ballroom dance floor to dance the night away.<p>

No expense had been spared on the lavish party that the Smith brothers were throwing for their final evening on Heaven's Isle. Many of the advertising company's clients had been flown in for the last days on the island, and the past forty-eight hours had been all about schmoozing. Not that Damon had for a minute seemed interested in doing anything other than worshiping her in whatever way she would let him.

When he finally pulled her back up, she barely had time to find her feet before he was spinning her out and then pulling her to him, so that her body was plied against his. His hands roved over her body hungrily before he spun her round so her back was pressed to his chest, and his hands continued their exploration.

"Damon," she gasped as one of his hands skimmed over one of her breasts.

He turned her around to face him. Her breath caught as she looked into his eyes. She'd known that this was likely to happen, hadn't she? When she'd agreed to this week she'd known that there was an excellent chance that she'd fall even further in love with her best friend. It had been unavoidable. Unstoppable. The moment she'd really let her guard down, she'd fallen harder and further than she'd ever thought possible.

They were flying home tomorrow. That thought had been weighing on her since she'd woken up this morning. She knew it was weighing on Damon too. She had felt it in the intensity of their lovemaking this morning, and again this evening before they'd left to attend the party. He'd been nothing but patient with her in the previous days, but she knew that he must be anxious about what would happen when they returned to Mystic Falls. She'd put off thinking about what happened when they left the island, but she couldn't put it off any longer.

Damon had asked her to look for the proof that he was in love with her, and she _had_ looked for it. At some point over the past few days, however, it had just stopped mattering whether he was or wasn't in love with her – whether it was real or imagined. The love she felt for him simply _consumed_ her. At one time she might have thought that setting him free with the promise of unconditional friendship was the right thing to do here, but that no longer felt like an option. Ending their romantic relationship when they got home had suddenly become unimaginable.

Besides, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility that he did love her, was it? He'd said it to her enough over the past few days. Why couldn't she take what he said to her at face value? Why did she have to weigh and measure what he was feeling for her, to see if it added up to what she felt? She loved him. She wanted him. _She couldn't let him go_. It was that simple.

Her decision finally made about their return home, she relaxed a little. They'd make it work. She could trust Damon to tell her if he changed his mind about them, couldn't she?

The music changed from fast paced to slow and Elena twined her arms around Damon's neck as he wrapped his around her waist.

"I love you," she told him as they swayed to the music together.

He answered her by lowering his mouth to hers. He brushed his lips over hers. Once. Twice. Then he was kissing her softly, his tongue tracing her bottom lip until her mouth opened under his and his tongue stroked hers. She was vaguely aware of the fact they'd stopped swaying to the music as their kisses grew hotter and more intense. This time, when she felt his purely male response to their proximity and kisses on the dance floor, she knew he wasn't thinking about anyone but her.

He made a noise in the back of his throat as she pressed herself closer to him. It was primal, possessive, fierce. The clutch of desire; the hot wet throb between her legs was quickly almost unbearable.

"Ah-hem."

The sound of someone clearing their throat worked to bring her back to the present moment and effectively clear the lustful haze she'd fallen into almost immediately.

"Damon, I do understand what it's like to be carried away with a beautiful woman," Elijah said to him, "but please remember that this is still technically a work event."

Damon nodded, and Elena felt herself blush a deep crimson. She'd been so carried away. They both had.

"Carl Brewis would like a word," Elijah told Damon. "That is, if you think you can tear yourselves apart. He'd like to discuss some of the new ideas he's come up with for the campaign."

Elena nodded when Damon looked at her. "Go," she said, giving him a smile. "Good luck."

He'd been after the Brewis Beer account for some time, as had Stefan. Elena wanted Damon to land it if he had the opportunity.

"I won't be long," he told her, dropping a quick kiss on her lips.

She watched him walk away with Elijah, eager for him to go and return to her so they could go back to their room so she could tell him she wanted them to be together when they got home, and then spend the next hours caught up in passion.

She was still smiling from the thought when she felt cold fingers touch her on the forearm.

"Hello, Elena," Katherine purred beside her.

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><p><strong>AN: I know I kept you waiting for this update. The reasons for the delay have been posted about on my LJ page. For those of you who haven't read it, please accept my apology for the long wait. **

**There were more than a few times when I seriously considered pulling this fic down. I had so much fear I was going to disappoint you all. In the end, however, I decided it would be more disappointing not to finish this. To all of my readers who have supported and stuck by me, please know I appreciate every one of you more than you could know. Big fandom hugs. The next update won't be too far away. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. Thanks for reading, and please review. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to Jenn (ElvishGrrl) for her editing suggestions, Daisy (LokYa) for pre-reading, and Kim (kimbuhlay) for her beta work. Without Kim's pushing this deadline would not have been reached.**

**Special Dedication:****This chapter is for the lovely Lucy on twitter. Happy Birthday! May this coming year be filled with great times, good friends, and may all your wishes come true. XOXO**

**Michelle**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

**I'll Make Your Every Wish Come True. If You Let Me.**

"Katherine," Elena returned coolly, hoping her polite but closed greeting didn't encourage conversation.

Katherine could only have one thing on her mind – causing trouble, and Elena didn't want to indulge her. After their exchange on the beach the other day, Katherine had more than likely been looking for an opening to get in her last parting shot. It was the first time Damon had left her side in days, and with it being the last night on the island, Katherine had picked the perfect time to strike. Elena briefly contemplated the idea of running, but there was no point. If Katherine had something to say, she would make sure she said it. All Elena could do was grin and bear it.

"Bravo, Elena. It looks like your persistence finally paid off. Feigning interest in Stefan was always going to get you Damon's attention." She paused for a moment and Elena braced herself for whatever was coming next.

"You know, we're really not that different, you and I," she continued. "We both used Stefan to pique Damon's interest."

They were absolutely nothing alike, Elena thought. And who knew if Damon's ex was telling the truth about using Stefan? It was possible Katherine had no idea who she wanted. The last thing she wanted was to be drawn into Katherine's web, but Elena couldn't help but want to set her straight.

"I didn't _use_ Stefan."

"Didn't you?"

"No."

"But you knew about their rivalry. What did you think would happen when Stefan showed an interest in you? Not that it matters. How long can it possibly last once you leave here? Damon is going to realize that you never wanted Stefan, and he'll lose interest in you."

Elena turned to Katherine. "Damon knows how I feel about him; how much I've always wanted him. He knows I've never really wanted anyone but him."

Surprise flitted across the other woman's face, quickly followed by relief. "So that's why he's with you," she exclaimed with excitement, as if she'd just found gold under her shoe. "He just wants to keep you happy. He doesn't want to lose his best friend."

Katherine was voicing Elena's biggest fear out loud, but she'd promised Damon that she'd look for the proof that he loved her, and she would fulfil that promise. No matter how much Katherine's words stirred up Elena's anxiety over Damon's sudden claim that he loved her, she couldn't let her fears get the better of her.

"He loves me," Elena found herself saying.

"It's not love when you have someone over a barrel, Elena."

"I would never do that."

"He was worried he was going to lose you. That sounds like manipulation to me."

Of course Elena hadn't meant to manipulate him, but her heart was beating as wildly as if she'd been caught out for doing just that, and she was starting to shake from the confrontation.

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"You think you've won, Elena, but you've made a terrible mistake. When this new relationship you have with Damon blows up in your face – and mark my words, it will – I'll be there waiting for him with open arms."

"You didn't want him until he rejected you."

"No, I didn't want him while you were in the picture. I knew there was never any way I could compete with you for his attention, but when he grows bored and tired of you, he'll come back to me. He'll come looking for me. After all, you're just the best friend he's looked past for a decade, while I'm the woman he actually wanted for more than a quick fling."

"You don't know Damon at all," Elena said, feeling Katherine's words launch straight into her heart and tear it apart from the inside.

"I guess we'll see, won't we?" Katherine asked, her lips curling into a thin smile as she tilted her head and looked at Elena condescendingly. "Enjoy Damon while you have him, won't you, Elena?"

As fast as her feet would take her, Elena rushed out of the double doors closest to her. She found herself on the patio, gripping the bannister and hoping to God she would stop shaking. Moonlight washed over her as she stared at the waves crashing upon the sand. She'd promised Damon she'd look for the proof that he loved her, but right now it felt as if her every fear and doubt were grabbing her by the shoulders and forcing her to look them in the eye. Was there any way she'd ever get over them? If she couldn't, she was going to ruin everything she'd built with Damon. He was trying so hard. He would be shattered if he knew how she felt right now.

He didn't have to know, she decided. Despite Katherine's best attempt to scare her, Elena had made a decision earlier and she was going to stick to it. She wanted to be with Damon when they returned to Mystic Falls. Being together for the past few days had been wonderful and magical, but she would only ever really know if this was more than a holiday fling for Damon if they kept this going when they got back. Of course, it would break her heart if Damon realized he didn't actually love her – didn't want to be with her anymore – but she was just going to have to deal with it if it happened. Giving up on them now just wasn't an option.

Ready now, and determined to tell Damon she wanted to be with him when they returned home, Elena walked back into the ballroom. She felt his gaze land on her immediately. He was still talking with his client, however his eyes were focused on her.

'_Are you okay_?' he mouthed. She didn't know if he'd seen her talking to Katherine, but he'd obviously noticed she'd left the room. She wanted to go to him, talk to him, but the Brewis Beer account was important one. She could wait.

She smiled and pointed up. "_Fine. Meet you upstairs_," she mouthed back. He frowned, but nodded. For a moment she contemplated staying and waiting for him to finish up with Mr Brewis, but Katherine was still circling, and when Elena turned to the right she caught Stefan watching her, too. He was far too close for her liking. She really didn't want to hear anything he might have to say this evening. Turning on her heel quickly, she left the ballroom and made her way upstairs to their room.

She decided to wait for him on the bed. Lying idle, however, gave her too much time to repeat Katherine's words to herself.

_It's not love when you have someone over a barrel, Elena.  
><em>  
><em>He was worried he was going to lose you.<em>

I'll be there waiting for him with open arms.

_After all, you're just the best friend he's looked past for a decade, while I'm the woman he actually wanted for more than a quick fling_.

Standing up, Elena decided she needed to do something tonight to erase Katherine's hurtful words from her mind. She walked over to the drawers and began to rummage through them. She didn't know what she was looking for yet, but she'd know when she found it. Hopefully. When she didn't find anything satisfactory in the drawers, she looked in her suitcase. Under everything there, she found it. It was a red and black teddy. The front was a dark red colour, which needed to be tied up in three separate places, and the rest of it was black lace.

All the other lingerie she'd packed for the trip had been a result of her shopping marathon with Caroline and Bonnie. What she was holding in her hands, however, had been an impulse buy. She'd caught sight of it in a store window and been launched into a fantasy in which she tied herself up to Damon's bed to see if she could have an effect on him. In a sudden spurt of confidence, she'd bought the garment, but realized almost immediately that she didn't have it in her to do something so drastic to make him see her.

She clutched it tightly to her chest now, along with every dream and hope she had about the two of them. She'd been too afraid of ruining everything between them back then – too afraid of him laughing at her, or rejecting her, to act on it. But that wasn't the case anymore now, was it? Damon _wanted_ her, and she had the perfect opportunity to forget everything Katherine said. And what better way to remember their last evening on the island than by seducing her best friend the way she'd always imagined?

* * *

><p>"Damon, is everything okay? Where's Elena?" Elijah asked.<p>

That was the problem, Damon thought. He didn't know if everything was okay or not. A few minutes ago he'd seen Katherine talking to Elena. He'd barely stopped himself from stalking across the ballroom and waltzing Elena away from the viper he'd once thought he loved. Intercepting the attack would have only encouraged Elena to believe he didn't trust her to see through Katherine's lies and manipulations. Now, however, he was worrying Elena hadn't seen through them. She'd fled afterwards, first outside, and then upstairs.

"She was tired and decided to head to bed early," he told Elijah. "I was just going to say my goodbyes and then join her."

"I'm assuming you've worked out everything with Elena, then?" Elijah pressed.

"Worked everything out?"

"I have to admit I was a little concerned when I saw you sitting with Katherine the other night at the barbecue, while Elena sat with Stefan."

"That was a…misunderstanding."

"One you've cleared up then?"

Damon nodded.

"Because you and Elena have been friends for a very long time," Elijah continued. "I'd hate to think you came to my island together and were returning…separately."

"I would hate that too," Damon confided.

Just the idea of what that would be like made him feel like there was a lump of cold ice stuck where his heart should be. Had Elena worked out he really loved her yet? Or was she going to insist they attempt to return to being just friends when they got back home to Mystic Falls? Despite the cold feeling in his chest, he pulled on the front of his shirt because he was starting to sweat.

He'd felt on edge all day, wondering what was going to happen when they went home, and he'd put off asking her about their return, hoping she'd bring it up. But now he wondered if that had been smart. Katherine's intention had most likely been to poison their relationship, and his best friend didn't need to listen to Katherine's barbs and negativity. He was still deeply afraid he'd lost Elena the moment he'd brought her to Heaven's Isle.

"This island works its magic on so many people," Elijah continued. "I was hopeful it would do the same with you and Elena. I've always felt the two of you belonged together."

Elijah's smile was warm and welcoming, but there was a knowing light in his eyes. Did Elijah suspect his relationship with Elena was a hoax?

"We weren't actually together when we arrived," Damon told him, testing the theory.

Instead of looking shocked at the truth, Elijah just smiled serenely. "I suspected as much. The very first night, after the dance you shared, and then after that night on the beach, it seemed like it was a possibility you'd exaggerated the truth about your relationship."

"You don't sound angry that I deceived you."

"If it's brought the two of you together, why would I be?"

"I love her so much, but she's having trouble believing it, since it happened so suddenly."

Damon didn't know why on earth he'd confided that fact to his boss, but Elena was his best friend, and he had no one else to talk to about her.

"It's been obvious you love her for quite some time."

"Maybe it's been obvious to you, but not to Elena, and not to me, until recently. The current change in our relationship has her thinking I'm too afraid of losing her friendship to let her go – that my declaration of love isn't…real."

"Well, that's absurd."

"Elena's known she loves me for the past ten years, but I never realized how I felt until I came here. And I asked her here to help me get Katherine back."

"And she's finding your one-eighty unbelievable?"

"I'm afraid she thinks I'm only with her because I'm afraid of losing her again."

"Is there any truth to that? Are you with her because you don't want to lose her?"

"I'm in love with her."

"I'm certainly not questioning that, Damon. But is it your fear of losing her which has motivated you to act?"

"No."

"The fact that you might lose Elena as a friend had no bearing on your decision to embark on a romantic relationship?"

"It was my fear of losing her that stopped me from acting on what I felt – that held me captive and made me blind."

"She's very important to you, isn't she?"

Important? Elena had been his everything for so long. His friend, his companion, his confidante, his family. _Everything_.

"Yes, she's important to me. She always has been."

"I can certainly see the dilemma you face in convincing her you love her."

"We'll get through it – Elena and I." _He hoped so anyway._ "Maybe it was just wishful thinking that Elena might believe I love her before we go home," he mused out loud. "After the last ten years she's suffered through, a week is just never going to cut it."

"Whether her fears are valid or not, doesn't stop the suffering _both_ of you must be experiencing by her lack of certainty."

"The most important thing is that she's trying to see it, though. Right?"

"Damon, would you be averse to me suggesting something?"

"If you can think of anything that might help."

Elijah nodded. "Fears are tricky to deal with sometimes, however many experts believe the best way to deal with fear is to face it head on. If Elena's biggest fear is that you don't want to lose her friendship and that's why you're with her, then that's what you need to work on."

"I have been."

"My advice would be to concentrate on showing her you can survive without her when you get back to Mystic Falls."

"I'm not following."

"When two people are as close as you and Elena are, there is a tendency to rely on each other for everything. Have you ever heard the expression "don't put all your eggs in one basket?'"

"Yes, but…"

"How many friends do you have outside of Elena?"

"None."

"Exactly."

"You're telling me I should make new friends?"

Elijah laughed. "Don't get me wrong. I think it's wonderful the two of you are so close that way. I've said before that friends make the greatest lovers. But no one should ever be your…_all_. It's too much to put on that one person. You have to make Elena see that there are other parts of your life you enjoy, and while she's still the most important person to you, she's not _everything_. You don't _need_ her just because you have no one else. That's what she needs to understand. She has to know you _want_ her because you love her."

Would that really work? It sounded like the exact opposite of what he'd been trying to achieve this week. He'd set out to show Elena just how much she meant to him, just how much he loved her, and it sounded like Elijah was suggesting he spend time with other people, doing other things, proving his life didn't revolve around her.

"I'm worried Elena might think I'm pulling away from her. It could make everything worse."

"Or perhaps she'll see that you're not holding onto her because you have nothing else, you're holding onto her because you're in love with her and your life is more complete with her in it."

Damon felt himself physically balk at the idea.

"Of course it was merely a suggestion," Elijah continued. "I wish you luck with your lady love, no matter how you decide to proceed."

"Thanks."

"Well, I suppose I should get back to my party."

Elijah clapped him hard on the back and then left, leaving Damon to wonder whether finding new friends would ease Elena's insecurities or make them worse? _You have to do something. What if she never comes round to believing you love her?_ _What if, right now, she's waiting for you to come upstairs so she can end everything?_ No. He couldn't believe she would. She had to see he loved her. She had to. And if she tried to end things between them, well he just wouldn't let her.

As patiently as he could, he fulfilled his obligations to say goodnight to the firm's clients, and as soon as he could get away, he walked up the stairs to his room. When he opened the door, however, he almost choked on his own tongue.

"Elena?"

Of course he wasn't really questioning whether it was her. The woman tied to the bed in the room had the same long, dark tresses as Elena. She had the same doe brown eyes and legs that went on forever. She had the body he'd driven himself into and found ecstasy in, time and time again this week, but she was tied to their bed! In a scrap of red and black lace, no less. It revealed more than it covered. The ties holding the fabric together at the front revealed so much smooth skin. He watched her nipples pebble and darken through the black lace. She was stunning. No, she was beyond stunning. And he was hard before he'd even closed the door.

"I've been waiting," she said huskily.

"And to think I bothered with the goodbyes…" he croaked out. "I thought I'd seen all the lingerie from your makeover."

Her cheeks were a soft pink colour and her eyes were closed now, the dark lashes splayed across her cheeks. He could only assume she was embarrassed – shy. Why?

"It's not from my makeover."

His heart started pounding and he wasn't sure of the reason, but somehow this was significant. He knew that much. He stood still, waiting for her to say something more, waiting for things to sink into place. Was this her way of ending their passionate week together? He swallowed as the tightness in his chest stole his breath, and anger, misery and something deep, dark and unwanted circled through him.

Did she think she could shake him this easily? That he'd just give up on them as if the past week had never happened? Or did she just need to see him fight for her? Because he would. He wouldn't stop fighting for her. He might have only asked for the week, but if he needed longer to convince her, she would give him longer. This wasn't a game. This was their life. He loved her - whether she believed it or not.

"I bought it," she told him. "On one of the very rare occasions I ever thought about forcing you to see me."

"Tell me about it," he demanded, walking towards her.

Her eyes were open now, locked on his, her cheeks pinker than before. "So many times I dreamed about you noticing me," she said softly.

"And you bought that during one of those times?"

"Yes. I saw this, and I imagined…"

"What did you imagine, Elena?"

"I imagined that I would do this."

"Tie yourself to my bed?"

She glanced down at herself, giving her the appearance of closing her eyes, but he wasn't fooled. She gave a wry little smile. "I had a little trouble tying myself up." Her smile slipped off her face and she looked at him again. "I wanted to make you want me."

He registered the vulnerability – the uncertainty – in her voice, but didn't give in to the need to comfort her. What had Elijah told him? It was best to deal with these insecurities head on? If she still wasn't convinced he loved her, then he would take every one of those fears and doubts she had, and he would _annihilate_ them. It was the only way to give what they had a real chance.

"So, why didn't you?" he asked, kicking off his shoes and unbuckling his belt.

Her eyes latched on the heavy and full erection now straining against the inside of his boxers.

"I thought you'd never want me, that I'd ruin everything between us."

Her words were like a short, sharp jab to his solar-plexus. She'd been in so much pain loving him all this time, and he'd really had no idea.

"Did you really think that if I found you like this I wouldn't have been affected? That I would have really turned you away?"

"I thought it would embarrass you. I couldn't risk it. I didn't want us to lose each other because I couldn't keep my feelings to myself."

No matter how much Damon wanted to deny it, he could understand why she'd thought he'd act that way. It _had_ been his reaction when he'd found out five days ago, but rest assured, if she'd shown up in his bedroom in Mystic Falls wearing what she was wearing now, he would have pounced first and asked questions later – well, after the obligatory "are you sure this is what you want?" anyway. He wouldn't have been able to keep his hands off her.

"It might have been a shock, but I would have gotten over it quickly, 'Lena."

He shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the couch, before unbuttoning his shirt and discarding that, too. He watched her shiver with anticipation as he neared, her breathing already ragged. The moment he was on the bed, he undid the extraordinarily loose ties around her wrists and took one of her hands and guided it past his heart – which was beating way too fast – and into his boxers.

"Did it never occur you that seeing you like this would make me lose control?" he whispered brokenly.

He ran her hand along the length of him, tightly squeezing towards the top. When she got to the end and felt the tangible proof of his excitement she licked her lips. Taking it as an invitation, he leaned in and kissed her hungrily. He thrust his hips forward as she continued to stroke his cock, their tongues dancing as he manoeuvred himself between her legs.

There was nothing more he wanted than to put his hand between her thighs and pull the material to the side so he could slide the length of his throbbing erection home, but it was obvious from what she'd said that she was acting out some kind of fantasy here, and he wanted to know more about it. He wanted to play it out for her. And as much as it really pained him to know she'd felt this way without him knowing, he had the opportunity to hear it now – to hear every one of the fears she'd had back then, and put them to bed for good.

"It was all I wished for," she said breathlessly, when they both came up for air.

"All you wished for, huh?"

"What are you doing?" she asked him, when she saw he'd picked up the silk belt of her dressing gown.

"You wished to see me out of control. I'm going to make your wish come true."

Elena swallowed as Damon took both her hands in his and raised them above her head.

"You suck at tying knots," he told her, before wrapping the belt around her wrists and securing them to the headboard.

"It's not exactly easy tying oneself to the bed."

"How does that feel?" he asked her.

She tried to pull her hands down, but she couldn't. The silk was soft around her wrists, but unyielding. Damon was obviously better at tying knots than she was.

"You've done this before, haven't you?" she asked before she could stop herself.

_Of course he's probably done this before. You, of all people, know how many women he's loved and left over the years._ _How could you imagine for one minute he's never done something like this before?_

"The only thing you need to think about, 'Lena, is that I've never loved another woman I've been to bed with. You're the first. And what I feel for you makes everything so much more intense. You know how much I need to be inside you right now, how desperate I am to be with you. I'm so hard it actually hurts."

His words made the walls of her sex clench. She rubbed her thighs together as she felt the wet heat making her centre slick. "Then be with me," she whispered. She didn't need any warming up now. She was ready. "I need you, too."

"Not yet," he told her. "I want to hear what happened in your fantasy after I found you tied to my bed."

"You untie me," she told him, looking down at the front of her outfit so he'd see she was talking about the ties holding the piece of lingerie together.

He didn't waste any time in undoing all three ties, but he was painstakingly slow when he pulled the sides apart. Instead of touching her, like she needed him to, he just looked at her. Her nipples were already agonizingly hard and sensitive and, as the material shifted against them, each peak hardened further. His eyes darkened beyond recognition as he stared at them, increasing her excitement. He finally drew a circle around her nipple with his finger, turning the persistent ache between her legs into something more intense.

"Please touch me," she pleaded.

"Like this?" he asked, his voice rough.

He ran a thumb across the turgid peak. Her tummy quivered as electricity was sent sparking through her in every direction. She nodded, feeling tempted to close her eyes, but not willing to at the same time.

"Is that really how you think I'd have touched you if you'd turned up tied to my bed? Do you think I could've been so…controlled?"

The hunger in his gaze damn near melted her. She shook her head slowly.

"After I got over the shock of seeing you like this, I would take what I wanted."

She didn't have time to wonder what he meant. He teased her nipples, making her insides clench every time he tweaked and pinched them. And when she finally felt his hot mouth close around her, increasing the voltage of energy already pulsing through her, it felt so good she wished she could plunge her hands into his hair and hold him there. She parted her legs and prayed he'd take the hint and give her what she needed.

"Do you know what drives me crazy?" he asked her, looking up at her. "Seeing you like this. Knowing you want me as much as I want you."

Oh, how she wanted him. She didn't think she'd ever wanted him more.

"Damon, untie me. Please."

"I'm not done losing my mind yet."

Frustration and sexual desire mingled inside her, making her feel more restless than she'd ever felt in her life. She needed to be with him right now. She needed to touch him. She needed to make him feel everything she was feeling, everything she'd been feeling for the past ten years. This was supposed to be _his_ seduction. Not hers. But instead of driving him crazy with desire, he was driving _her_ crazy.

Damon felt as if this was his fantasy as much as it was Elena's right now. He wasn't having any trouble imagining she'd surprised him in his bedroom in Mystic Falls and shocked him into seeing her differently. Her body was phenomenal and he had no idea how his eyes had slid over her so many times without seeing what he saw now – _perfection_.

He kissed his way down her body, using his tongue and his teeth in places to make her crazy. A growl passed his lips as he reached his intended destination and saw how damp the fabric covering her was. He breathed in the musky scent of her arousal and felt his balls fill and tighten. He wanted her to ride his face as if her life depended on it. He gave the insides of her thighs a brief pet and kiss, feeling her tremble underneath his touch, before he pulled the fabric and set to work.

The moment he pressed his tongue into the damp heat between her legs he lost himself. She was so damn sweet. All he wanted was taste after taste of her. He flicked and circled the bundle of nerves between her legs with his tongue until it was a hard, rigid little peak, before driving his tongue inside her, desperate for more of her. He heard her curse, and when he felt her thighs lock his head into place, he knew she was ready. He drove his tongue into her over and over again as his fingers coaxed her to completion. He felt her whole body stiffen, heard her cry out, and then she was rocking herself against his face just like he'd wanted. He reached down and grabbed his aching cock, squeezing it tightly in an attempt to stave off the orgasm which was suddenly far, far too close.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Damon."

He singlehandedly shed his boxers as her thighs relaxed around his head.

"Untie me," she ordered breathlessly, when he looked up at her.

He didn't think he'd ever moved so fast. He was so ready it wasn't funny, and he didn't want her tied up while he was inside her. He wanted her to touch him. He had the knots around her wrists off within seconds. She flew at him the moment she was no longer bound to the bed, laying him flat on his back and giving him the hottest kiss of his life. Her hands dove into his hair as she sucked on his tongue. And then she was breaking away from him, moving down his body, kissing her way down his chest, before he stopped her.

"I'm so close to the edge, 'Lena. I've never needed anyone this badly in my life. I need you to sit on me. Right now."

For a moment he thought she was going to argue with him - or worse torture him some more with her hands and mouth, but she must have realized exactly how serious he was about being on the edge because she moved her hips into position. After sweeping the offending barrier of her lingerie out of the way, she sunk onto his swollen length. Her descent was painfully slow. Once he was seated inside her his hands went to her hips, holding her completely still.

He felt as if he was in sensory overload right now. The sight of her exposed breasts. The scent of sex and perfume, filling the room. The feel of her slick, silken walls squeezing his throbbing cock. It was too much. Being with his best friend lately had become a major test of stamina and will. He'd always been able to control how quickly he achieved climax. But not with Elena.

When he loosened his grip on her hips she started moving slowly, her eyes open, but unseeing. He sat up, wanting her – needing her – to look at him. Yes, they'd just re-enacted a fantasy she'd had, but fantasy time was over. He wasn't the Damon who didn't see her. Not anymore. He was a willing participant in this. He wanted her as much as she wanted him. He was here to love her and make all her fantasies a reality – for as long as she'd let him.

He kissed her as they came together, and as they laid down facing each other afterward he brushed the backs of his fingers across her face. "I can't accept that this is the end of the line for us, 'Lena."

Her eyes widened slightly, before he watched realization dawn in them. "This isn't goodbye, Damon."

"It's not?"

"No."

"When we leave here?"

He looked down at her and she looked back up at him. "I want to be with you. I was going to tell you earlier, but we were interrupted. When we get home, I want us to be together."

"Because you believe I love you?"

He couldn't keep the hope out of his voice, nor could he hide his disappointment when she looked away from him.

"I…I'm really trying, Damon."

She looked so miserable and disappointed right now, but this wasn't her fault. Not really. It was his. As Elijah had pointed out earlier, no person should be his all, but Elena had always been. She was his everything – the queen of his world. It wasn't healthy. It wasn't right. And he'd clung to her and their friendship so hard that he'd said things and done things that were difficult to get over quickly, he guessed.

There was proof everywhere she looked that his feelings might not be real. Hell, while she'd been here Stefan and Katherine had told her more than once that he just didn't see her like that. She'd had fantasies like the one she'd just shared with him, ones in which she saw him turning her away. She'd had a freaking makeover because she thought he'd never see her the way she wanted him to.

He'd finally convinced her to take the leap from friends to lovers, but not until he'd almost lost her for good. Only then had he felt ready to act on the attraction and feelings he'd been pushing away for so many years. His one-eighty had come too quickly. She hadn't been privy to all the feelings he'd denied for the past decade or more.

"I want to believe it. Maybe it's just going to take a bit longer than we'd hoped it might," she admitted.

"It's okay," he said to her. "We'll get there."

She nodded and gave him a small smile, though he could tell it was slightly strained. "I know."

Something needed to change between them, and it wasn't their romantic relationship. It was their friendship. When they got back things would have to be different. He had to expand his world to include more than just Elena. He'd been taking care of himself from the time his mother walked out. He didn't let people in in case they left him – no one except Elena. But he had to work out how to let people in now. He thought he'd conquered his fear of being abandoned when he lost Elena five nights ago, but he'd only just begun to face it. If he wanted her to believe his love wasn't a result of his fear, he'd have to prove it. He'd have to make her see that friendship and great sex weren't the only reasons he wanted her around.

"Things are going to change when we get back to Mystic Falls, 'Lena."

"What do you mean?" she asked warily.

"For the better. Things are going to change for the better. I'm in love with you. And I'm going to do what it takes to show you that."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So. In the next chapter we return Mystic Falls to see how these best friends adapt to the changes in their relationship, and life off Heaven's Isle. I've been concerned about how co-dependent Damon and Elena are (in this) for a while now. If you want to know why I have to *fix* all the couples I write about then I should tell you that I once had a burning desire to be a couple's counsellor (yes, like Von Gruber Mwahahah). I spent a year studying to be one, before I decided I should probably work on fixing myself before trying to fix other people. But this is fiction, and I can't stop my inner therapist from coming out to play *evil grin*.**

**Love to all of you. Thanks for reading, and please review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks to Jenn for her editing suggestions and to Daisy and Kim for pre-reading. **

**I know I said I'd have these last chapters up a while ago but a death in the family affected me far more than I could have ever anticipated. Sorry for the delay. And here is chapter 13!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

**Everything you do is for me.**

Elena glanced down at the phone ringing beside her. Apprehension slid through her as she saw Damon's name flashing on the display. Was he going to tell her he was hanging out with the guys again tonight? He hadn't mentioned anything earlier, but then they'd been too busy tearing each other's clothes off this morning to talk about something as mundane as what they were going to do this evening.

Their relationship had felt a little out of balance ever since they'd come back from Heaven's Isle, and now she was starting to worry. They didn't talk the way they used to. And while their sex life was incredibly validating, Elena was sure it would burn out eventually. And what then? Would they still remember how to talk to each other when it did? He had other people he wanted to talk to now. Other friends. The guys.

Two and a half months ago, Damon had joined a local bowling team, and lately he was spending more and more time with them.

Taking one long breath, she reluctantly picked up the phone and answered it. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Damon returned.

Heat curled through her immediately at the sound of the husky voice on the other end.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Everything is fine," he told her. "I was thinking about eating dinner with the guys tonight. Is that okay with you?"

Elena swept her eyes over the table she'd set for two earlier. Dinner was cooking in the oven. She should have taken the time to confirm the fact that he'd be coming over for dinner before making something so elaborate, but she'd wanted to surprise him. They didn't officially have an anniversary date, but it had been three months today since they'd returned home to Mystic Falls. She hadn't expected Damon to remember. It wasn't really important. She'd just felt like doing a little something to celebrate. But he didn't want to spend the evening with her. He wanted to spend it with his new friends.

Her heart began to pound as panic clawed at her. She held on to the kitchen counter and reminded herself to breathe. Just because Damon wanted to spend time with his new friends didn't mean anything was wrong, she told herself quickly. He still wanted her. He still came home to her every night. He still told her he loved her. And it wasn't as if he was out seeing other women. He was working on building relationships with other people, and after the years he'd spent shut off from everyone except her, that was a good thing. _It was_.

"Elena?"

"It's fine."

There was a pause. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I mean, I made dinner for us but-"

"You should have said something. I'll be there in half an hour."

"It wasn't anything fancy," she lied. "Stay. Have dinner with the guys. Caroline and Bonnie were talking about going to the Grill anyway. I might go down with them."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

"Okay, I'll see you when you get back then."

Damon hadn't technically moved in, but he'd spent every night at her place since they'd arrived home. Her wardrobe was full of his stuff and his toothbrush lived next to hers in her bathroom.

"I'll see you then."

"I love you, Elena," he told her.

Her heart still lurched every time he said that to her. "Love you too."

Once Damon had hung up, Elena picked up one of the breadsticks she'd put on the table and then dialled Caroline's number.

"Elena," Caroline eventually answered.

"Hey. Are you and Bonnie still going to the Grill tonight?"

"Yes…" Caroline said. "Why?"

"Can I tag along?"

"What happened to your fancy three-month dinner with Damon?"

"He called to say he's having dinner with the guys."

"Ooo-kay."

"Should I be worried?" Elena asked impulsively.

After a pause that felt too long, Caroline said, "Pssh. Of course not. Dinner with the guys is nothing to worry over."

Elena could practically hear Caroline waving her hand in dismissal. Aside from the fact that her friend had been disappointed Elena no longer required her dating agency services, Caroline had been absolutely thrilled that Damon and Elena were dating, and even more thrilled that the 'makeover' she and Bonnie had given Elena had worked so well.

Bonnie, on the other hand, had not been quite as enthusiastic about their change of status. After encouraging her to go to Heaven's Isle with Damon, Elena had expected a little more than the silence Bonnie gave whenever his name came up.

"Don't stress over it, Elena," Caroline persisted. "Promise me."

She sighed. "I promise."

"Bonnie and I will pick you up at eight, okay?"

"I'll be ready."

* * *

><p>Elena, Caroline and Bonnie had just ordered their drinks and sat down in the bar when someone caught Caroline's attention.<p>

"Hey, isn't that-"

"Stefan," Elena finished for her, following her line of sight. "Great," she added when he noticed her looking over at him. Damon's rival stood up, along with his blonde date, and walked towards them.

"Elena," he said, once he'd reached them.

"Stefan."

"How are you?"

"Fine."

"This is Rebekah," he said to her, drawing their attention to the blonde he was standing with.

"Hello," Elena said politely.

The woman merely turned the corners of her mouth up in a poor imitation of a smile.

"I'm surprised you're not out with Damon…" Stefan said.

It was quite obvious from the look on his face that he wasn't surprised at all.

"We're having a girl's night," Elena said stiffly.

"And Damon is…?"

"Having a guy's night," Caroline said, before muttering under her breath, "Obviously."

"Damon is out with friends?" Stefan repeated. "I thought you were Damon's only friend, Elena."

"Not anymore."

She hadn't meant the words to come out sounding quite so resentful. Stefan's expression turned smug immediately and Elena itched to slap the knowing smirk off his face.

"I hate to say I told you so," Stefan said, with an excessive amount of pleasure inflected in his voice. "But I did. Your friendship with Damon was never going to survive a relationship he only wanted so I couldn't have you."

"Was it all just a game for you, Stefan?" Elena asked, trying to gain control over the panic once again clawing at her. "When you said you wanted to hang out and go on a date when we got back to Mystic Falls…was that an act? Were you showing interest in me only for the sake of making Damon mad?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes. Honestly."

"Honestly, making Damon mad was a bonus. I was serious about us going on a date. I liked you, Elena. But you chose Damon."

"Yes, I did."

"And now he's nowhere to be seen and I have Rebekah." He motioned to the table they'd been sitting at, which Rebekah had walked back to at some point during their exchange. "She works with Damon and I, by the way. For a short while I thought my days competing with Damon for women might be over. After all, you have lasted longer than any of Damon's previous excuses for girlfriends. But judging by his absence here tonight, he might be very interested to hear I'm dating Rebekah."

Elena shook her head to disagree, but Stefan barrelled on, undeterred.

"You're here. And he's where?" Stefan asked, looking around. "I think the fact that he's finally cast out the friendship net is a sure sign that it's over, Elena. Both your friendship and whatever relationship he had with you out of pity. He just hasn't told you so yet."

She felt like she'd been slapped so hard she nearly fell off the chair.

"You disgust me," Bonnie said, out of nowhere. "You men and your games."

"Hey," Stefan said, holding his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Don't hate the player. Hate the game."

Elena watched Stefan walk away. Her heart was beating so fast it was a wonder she hadn't had a heart attack. Was it true? Were her relationship and friendship with Damon over and that was why he'd found new friends and stopped talking to her so much?

"Oh. My. God," Caroline said. "Did he really just say that? Thank God you didn't end up dating him, Elena. And you have to be an idiot to believe anything he just said. Right Bonnie?"

Bonnie shrugged, causing Elena's stomach to sink further.

"What is with you lately, Bonnie Bennett?" Caroline growled, glaring at Bonnie.

Obviously, Elena wasn't the only one who had noticed Bonnie's unenthusiastic responses to all of Elena's talk about Damon.

"Nothing," Bonnie said, stirring her drink with her straw and refusing to look at either of them.

"You've been wearing that sour expression every time the topic of Damon comes up. And when I told you-"

"Just leave it, okay, Caroline?"

Elena's confusion over Bonnie's reaction grew exponentially when she saw the look Bonnie shot Caroline.

"I don't want to leave it, Bonnie," Elena said to her. "You've been acting strange ever since I started dating Damon. You were the one who encouraged me to go on the holiday with him in the first place. I don't understand-"

"He called me, okay?"

"What?"

"While you were away with him. Damon called me, wanting to know if he was your Mr X."

"What did he say?" Caroline asked.

"What did _you_ say?" Elena asked, though she was already pretty certain she knew.

She remembered the day in question all too well: her run along the beach with Damon and her desperate hope he'd kiss her in the water, followed by his confusion when she'd been disappointed he hadn't. She'd gone back to their room by herself and when he'd returned, he'd known. Elena would never forget his expression. Obviously, in the time he'd been gone, he'd spoken to Bonnie and she'd filled in the blanks for him.

Bonnie gave her an apologetic look. "Maybe I should have lied, but he'd figured it out, 'Lena. He was so shocked. He'd never had a clue you were in love with him. Once he knew, I asked if he was still in love with Katherine. He sounded pretty torn, but he said that he was."

Yes, Damon had believed himself in love with Katherine at that time, but he'd insisted shortly after that what he felt for Katherine wasn't love. What he felt for Elena was the real deal. And he'd also insisted his feelings for her had always been there, he just hadn't realized it until their holiday.

"When the two of you arrived home," Bonnie continued, "I was expecting you'd be trying to move on and Damon would give you some time and distance to do that – that he'd let you go. Instead, the two of you are together. I'm sorry. It's not that I don't want to you to be happy, 'Lena. I just can't forget that conversation and wondering when he stopped loving Katherine."

Over the last three months, Elena had told herself it didn't matter when or where or how Damon had fallen in love with her. All that mattered was that he was in love with her now. There were times when she believed he might be and other times when she worried she was deluding himself. Like now.

"You're crazy, Bonnie," Caroline said. "We've been saying Damon's in love with her for years. How many times have we commented on the fact that Damon was so blind he needed glasses?"

"Because he couldn't see what was in front of his face," Bonnie muttered.

"Do you really think Damon could give up Katherine so easily if he was actually in love with her?" Caroline asked.

"Even when he thought he was in love with Katherine, he offered to give her up to keep me happy," Elena said sadly. "Our friendship has always been more important to him than anything else. He would have done anything to save it. But now he has new friends. He doesn't need me anymore. Maybe Stefan was right."

"No," Bonnie said. "Damon has always loved you. I've always thought so. I just…forgot it there for a while."

"I know he loves me. I just don't know if he's in love with me," Elena admitted out loud for the first time.

"You're being ridiculous," Caroline told her.

Elena's insecurities over whether Damon loved her were a very tender spot that she hadn't wanted to share for this reason. Caroline was waving it off as if her fears were nothing and Elena felt stupid for even saying it. Now she felt like she had to justify them.

"When we first got together," Elena said, "I was just like you, Bonnie – wondering when his feelings for me had suddenly changed. I thought he wanted to be with me because he wanted to save our friendship. What's totally crazy is that ever since we got back to Mystic Falls, I hardly feel like we're friends anymore."

"Have you talked to him about it?" Caroline asked. "Does he know you doubt his feelings for you?"

"When we talked about the status of our relationship before coming home, he knew I still wasn't sure how he felt about me. He told me he was going to do whatever it took to show me he was in love with me – that things were going to change when we got back to Mystic Falls, but the only thing that's changed is the fact that we're less and less like friends-"

"And more and more like lovers?" Caroline asked, her eyes shining. "More and more like girlfriend and boyfriend, perhaps?"

Elena sat up straighter in her chair. "Yes."

"Elena," Caroline said with such exaggerated patience that Bonnie giggled. "Damon is in love with you."

"You think so?"

"Yes!" Caroline cried, causing Bonnie to fall back in her chair laughing.

Elena smiled at them, but inside she was feeling more confused than ever.

"Don't you see it?" Caroline asked.

"See what?"

"Damon has made new friends because he doesn't want you to think he's with you just for the sake of your friendship."

"Oh."

It sounded so simple. So logical. Of course that was what Damon was doing. How on earth had she not seen it until now? How on earth had she doubted him for so long? His biggest fear was people pushing him away – of getting too close to people and being rejected. Abandoned. It was the reason he'd never before sought out friendship with anyone. Elena herself had had to force her friendship upon him.

But when they'd come home from Mystic Falls, he'd thrown himself into this guy's club that he'd joined. He'd never joined a club before, but he'd done it to make new friends. He'd conquered his number one fear, and he'd done it for her. For them. She felt humbled and thrilled and amazed and suspiciously close to tears.

"He is in love with me."

"Of course he is."

"All this time I doubted his feelings…and the proof of how he felt was right under my nose all along."

"The way Damon's love for you was under his nose all along," Bonnie said.

"I have to go," Elena said.

"What? Already? We just got here," Caroline grumbled.

"I have to hear Damon tell me he loves me."

"But-" Bonnie started.

"And then I have to let him know I one hundred percent believe him."

"Aww," Caroline and Bonnie chorused together.

"I mean, he'd want to know, right?"

"Of course he would."

"Go!"

"Get out of here."

"Say hi to Damon for us!"

She'd only walked as far as the parking lot before she realized Caroline had picked her up and she didn't have a ride home. She would have to wait for Caroline and Bonnie to finish their evening after all, unless… She fished her cell out of her handbag and dialled Damon's number.

"Hey," he answered straight away. "Are you home already?"

It was all there, Elena thought: the eagerness to see her, the happiness in his voice when he spoke to her. She could literally hear him smiling through the phone, and her chest expanded and filled with warmth and her heart danced right along with the butterflies in her stomach. Damon Salvatore – her best friend and the man she'd been in love with for ten years – loved her back. Correction, he was in love with her.

Why? Why hadn't she seen it before now? She'd been so afraid. That was why. While Damon had been busy conquering his fears, she'd nursed hers by never daring to believe everything he'd said to her was real. She'd hidden behind them, too afraid to let them go, too afraid she might get hurt. She was an idiot. Truly. But that stopped today. Today it was time to lay her fears to rest for good.

"'Lena?" he prompted.

"I'm, ah, I'm at the Grill still."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything is fine. It's just… I really need to see you. Can you come and get me?"

"I'll be right there. I was about to leave, anyway."

"I'll wait inside for you."

"I'll come in when I get there. See you in ten."

Ten minutes after he'd ended his conversation with Elena, Damon pulled into the parking lot of the Grill. He was confused to say the least. Elena had sounded happy enough on the phone, but he couldn't help worrying over the fact that she'd seemed so desperate to speak to him. Had he pushed her too far, too soon?

As promised, he'd done his best to set some changes in motion when they'd returned to Mystic Falls, like joining the bowling team that had been advertising for a new member in the local paper. He wasn't much of a bowler and the sport had never appealed to him before, but when he'd met the other members of the team, Alaric, Jeremy and Logan, he'd gotten along with them. Hell, Damon actually liked them – a first for him.

Elena couldn't understand why he'd decided to join a bowling team. He hadn't told her about the conversation he'd had with Elijah the night before they'd left Heaven's Isle. Actions spoke louder than words, and he'd been hoping she'd open her eyes and see what he was doing without being prompted or guided, but he was afraid she didn't believe his declarations of love any more now than she had the day they'd come home.

Sometimes he could see her insecurity flickering in her eyes for a second, before she willed it away and tried to pretend it didn't exist. Other times, there was a slight nervousness present in her when they were talking about him hanging out with the guys, like this evening when he'd told her he wanted to have dinner out. He fell for her a little harder and a little further every day. Would she ever believe it?

Maybe keeping his mouth shut about what he was doing and why he was doing it had been a stupid idea. Maybe he needed to clue her in and tell her what he was up to. He'd been walking such a fine line, trying to give her what she needed to feel secure, while doing what he needed to make their relationship work.

His own doubts and worries grew exponentially when he walked into the bar and saw Stefan sitting with the newest member of the Smith and Smith sales team, Rebekah, at one of the tables just inside the entrance.

"Damon," Stefan said gleefully.

There was no doubt in Damon's mind that Stefan and Rebekah's presence at the Grill was the reason behind Elena's phone call. _Shit._ If Stefan had been talking to her and seeding her doubt, Damon would make sure he paid for it.

"Hello, Damon," Rebekah said seductively.

"Rebekah." Damon greeted her, ignoring Stefan.

"We're just having a little getting to know you drink. Care to join us?" Rebekah asked.

Stefan was still his number one enemy. Rebekah, on the other hand, was nice enough, but Damon had no interest in her on a personal level, despite the fact Stefan had tried several times to change that fact.

"It will give you the chance to get to know Rebekah a little better," Stefan said with a wink.

How many times was Stefan going to try and pique his interest in competing for a woman's interests? The only woman Damon was interested in was Elena, and the fact that Stefan more than likely knew Elena was there and was trying to get Damon to chat up another woman made Damon want to knock Stefan's teeth down his throat.

"I'm here for Elena," he said, looking around for her.

"When are you going to give it up?" Stefan asked.

Damon would never give up on anything related to Elena. Ever.

"Don't know what you're talking about," Damon answered him.

"Even Elena knows it's over," Stefan told him. "Seems kind of pointless to keep the charade up, if you ask me."

For a split second Damon's heart squeezed so tight it hurt, but then he finally locked eyes with Elena across the room. The smile on her face and the brightness in her eyes was in complete contrast to the dread clutching at him since she'd asked him to come and get her. Her smile didn't falter, even when she took in the fact that he was standing with Rebekah and Stefan.

Elena was very happy and whatever reason she had to ask him there was a good one, Damon decided quickly. And it had nothing to do with Stefan and his bullshit about Elena knowing it was over. Thank God.

He thumped Stefan very, very hard on the back. "No one asked you, Stef. I'll see you Monday, Rebekah."

He hadn't walked very far when Elena appeared in front of him.

"Hey," she said.

Again, he was struck by the brightness in her eyes. But there was something else in her gaze that reeled him in and hooked him there – something he'd never seen before. Confidence, maybe? It wasn't like Elena wasn't a confident person when it came to most things; it was just that she'd never been confident when it came to _him_ – to their love. Right now, however, all her confidence seemed to be aimed at him. There was a teasing, seductive quality to her expression as she took his hands and placed them on her hips before linking her arms around his neck.

She pressed her body against his, causing a flash of heat to surge straight through him and an erection to spring up the way it always did whenever she was in close proximity these days. They weren't teenagers, but his libido didn't seem to remember that. Damon wanted her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It was ridiculous.

Her painted lips were just inches away from his, soft, inviting. Seeing him stare at them, she ran her tongue over them invitingly. He almost groaned out loud. Something was different about her tonight and he just couldn't figure it out. She'd seduced him on many occasions, but it was the knowing light in her eyes as she looked at him right now that told him this time was not like the others.

"Are you ready to leave?" she asked him, running a hand down his black shirt.

"I should say hi to Bonnie and Caroline."

"They're not expecting you to."

Frowning, he looked over at Caroline and Bonnie who were both grinning like idiots and waving. The frown never left his face as he waved back. Then Elena grabbed his hand and tried to tug him out of the bar. Too confused to do anything but let her lead him out of the place, they walked towards the exit. As they walked past Stefan and Rebekah, however, he remembered the dread he'd felt a minute ago and made up his mind to tell Elena about his reasons for joining the bowling club as soon as they were some place quiet.

They walked towards the car, hand in hand. "I have to tell you something 'Lena."

If Elena hadn't just come to the conclusion that Damon was very much in love with her, she would be freaking out right now. But she did know he loved her. Fear and doubt had prevented her from seeing the full truth of it before now, but she wouldn't let it cloud her vision anymore. Damon had gone above and beyond. He'd proved he was willing to do whatever it took for things to work out between them. He'd conquered his fears and now it was time to conquer hers once and for all.

"Uh-uh," she stopped him, backing him against his car, unable to keep the smile off her face as she took in his confused expression.

As they stood there, facing each other, however, she grew serious.

"I love you, Damon."

"I love you, too, 'Lena, and-"

"I know," she told him quickly, cutting off whatever else he was about to say. "I know."

"You know?"

"I know you love me."

He looked at her now, his expression softening.

"I know you're in love with me," she said to him. "I'm so sorry it took me so long to see what you were doing. I'm sorry I ever doubted how you felt."

He surprised her by reaching out and tugging her into his arms. She rested her head against his chest and melted into him. "I know I gave you ten years of reasons to doubt me."

"No." She looked up at him and shook her head. "I was so afraid. For the last three months I let my fear stand between us."

"And I let mine stand between us for ten years. It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that it won't stand between us any longer."

"Never again," she confirmed.

"How did you figure it out, by the way?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She sighed. "With a little help from my friends, I have to admit."

He chuckled. "I knew there was a reason I liked those two."

She swatted at him playfully. There had been times in the past when he'd been jealous of the time she'd spent with them. Now she was the one jealous of the time he spent with his friends. Well, no more. Never again. It was great Damon had made friends. Yes, she'd been worried about the fact that he seemed to be spending more and more time with the guys, but now that she'd seen the truth of his feelings for her, she understood she had no reason to feel insecure.

There was still one thing, however.

"I don't want us to stop being friends," she told him.

"We'll never stop being friends, 'Lena."

"We don't talk as much as we used to," she said worriedly. "I'm happy you have the guys, but-"

He placed his finger over her lips. "We don't talk as much because I want you every second of every day."

She rolled her eyes, but let him continue. "But you're still my best friend. There's no one in the world I'd rather talk to more. As it turns out, there's also no one in the world I'd rather be in bed with."

Now she was laughing and Damon couldn't help but feel relieved that this moment was finally upon them. For the first time in a long time, everything felt right. He was in love with her and she finally knew it. Reversing their positions, he pressed her against his car and kissed her. Her laugh immediately turned into a moan that he swallowed. There was no one else for him. There never would be, and as her lips parted under his and she clung to him, he knew it would be a struggle to hold off asking her to be his for the rest of their lives. But he would.

After their week on Heaven's Isle and the three months that had followed, they hadn't really relaxed and enjoyed being together the way they should have from the start. They'd been too busy adjusting to the changes in their relationship, and Elena had been trying to learn to trust him. Now was really the first time they could enjoy being together – Damon without having something to prove, and Elena confident her feelings were one hundred percent reciprocated.

When Elena deepened the kiss and pressed her body against his, he almost forgot himself and begged her to become his wife right then and there, but he stopped himself in time – just long enough for him to unlock the car and for them to tumble into the back seat together, a flurry of limbs and hands and mouths.

Feeling every bit the naughty teenager, he slid his hand inside her jacket and fondled her breast. In response she ran her hand along the hard ridge of him through his pants.

"Jesus, Elena."

His only indication she'd heard him was the fact that she spread her legs apart so he was pressed against the apex of her sex.

"I need you now," she said.

He wondered if she was contemplating the same question he was: could sex possibly get any better between them with this new and total understanding and awareness of the way they felt about each other?

Her hands reached for his belt as he pushed up her hot purple and black skirt. He pushed her underwear to the side and almost whimpered when he felt how much she wanted him. She wriggled her hips against his hand and his thumb skimmed her clit just as she got her hand around the length of him. Just like that, he was gone. Unable to wait any longer to be with her, he worked her underwear off her legs, over the pumps she was still wearing, and onto the floor of his car.

She slid her legs over his shoulders and he tortured her by running his cock up from her slick entrance over her clit. She muttered an expletive as she tried to reach for him, but he remained out of reach for a moment, before surging forward and burying himself in her welcoming heat. And there was the answer to his question. Yes, sex could get better. Being with her like this – it was like magic. It was like two halves becoming whole. It was like coming home in a way he'd never felt before, no matter how insatiable he'd been before now.

And the best part? For the first time he knew she was looking into his eyes and seeing exactly the same thing he saw in hers.

"I love you, Elena."

The most beautiful smile curved her mouth. "Yes, you do. And I love you, too."

"Yes, you do," he returned.

They both laughed, and then he kissed her again and again and took them both straight to heaven.

* * *

><p>AN: That's it folks. Kidding. Kind of. I'll post a short epilogue next week. It's already in the hands of my beta, so I'm fairly confident I can actually keep that promise. I started this story just after my second child was born. At the time, I was suffering with a severe case of PND. Starting this story got me through the toughest times of my life. All your support and reviews during those weeks kept me going. Kept me writing. Kept me sane (for the better part). Being part of this fandom helped me immensely. Once I began feeling better, my updates trailed off, and for that I'm sorry. But I never forgot you. I know it's taken us a while to reach this point (we've had a few bumps in the road), but for those of you still reading, please know I love this fandom. It might take me too long, but I will always come back and finish what I started.

Love to you all.


	14. Epilogue

A/N: Massive thanks to Jenn (ElvishGrrl), who beta'd the last few chapters for me, and to Daisy (LokYa) and Kim (kimbuhlay), both who read this chapter and assured me I should actually post it. If it hadn't been for their encouragement, I might have chickened out. *Hugs the three of you.*

Re: Bet Me. I go on my very first overseas trip on June 6th. I'm going simply for the purpose of meeting up with some friends I made while writing fanfic and I'm beyond excited. When I return, I'll get back to Bet Me. In the meantime, KMBMH is now complete and I'm hoping to finish LCKM on Wattpad before I go. I'm not sure yet whether I will or not, but fingers crossed that I can!

Love to you all!

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

_Fifteen years later…_

Walking back from the bathroom to the party in full-swing outside, Damon was distracted by the light he could see on underneath his daughter's bedroom door. It seemed like just yesterday Jenna had taken her first steps towards him, her eyes filled with love and adoration. Now she was sending Damon's head into a spin by talking about boys – one in particular – her best friend Dean. The fact that Dean was Stefan and Rebekah's son was equally perturbing.

Thank God Elena was around to field their daughter's questions about Dean because Damon's first instinct, whenever Jenna talked about Dean, was to grab a gun and shoot Stefan's son before he had the chance to hurt Jenna, or worse, get into her panties. It didn't matter that Stefan was now one of Damon's better friends, or that they'd buried the hatchet a long time ago. If Dean defiled Jenna, Damon was going to strangle the boy.

In his opinion, thirteen was far too young to be thinking about boys. Unfortunately, Damon's opinion didn't seem to change the way Jenna felt, nor did it change the fact that he was woefully unprepared for dealing with his daughter's melancholy words about unrequited love. At least Damon had more of an idea about how to handle their two rambunctious seven-year-old twin boys, Jason and Jordan.

When a quiet sob sounded from inside Jenna's room, Damon found himself moving closer to the door, his hand poised to knock just as he spotted Elena walking down the hallway towards him. They'd been married for fourteen years but she still managed to take his breath away every single day. And dressed up in a delightfully short sparkly gold dress for his birthday celebration, she was taking everybody's breath away tonight. She looked absolutely stunning, and as much as he enjoyed company and having his friends over, he really couldn't wait for them to leave so he could have his wife to himself.

"Hey, birthday boy," Elena whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him softly.

It didn't matter that the touch of her lips was fleeting, need flared to life within him, heating him all over. And when she deepened the kiss and pressed herself further into him, he nearly moaned aloud and dragged her into their bedroom. His desire for her still knocked him senseless, but with three children at home they were often challenged to find time. Still, they managed.

"I want you. Right now," he told her.

He felt her smirk against his lips. "Later. I have a surprise for you: your final birthday present."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. And you're going to have to wait, because I know I'm going to end up screaming when you turn it on."

The force with which blood flooded his loins _did_ make him groan now. "You're killing me here."

"Wait until later. Caroline and Klaus offered their babysitting services tonight, as their birthday present to you."

It had surprised both Damon and Elena when Elena's friend had hit it off with Damon's boss, but when Klaus had gone looking for a spot of matchmaking, Caroline had decided she didn't want to match the man with anyone but herself. They'd been happily married for nine years now, had two delightful and well-behaved children, and were currently Damon's heroes for offering babysitting.

"I suppose I'll have to wait then," Damon said.

"I'll make it worth your while," she told him saucily.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

She gave him one final kiss, before pulling away. And now that his blood wasn't roaring quite so loudly in his veins, he could hear Jenna's muffled sobs once more.

"You go back to our guests. I'll check on Jenna," she told him.

Relieved Jenna would be consoled without him having to put his foot in his mouth – as he did sometimes, Damon nodded and made his way back outside.

* * *

><p>Forty-five minutes later, Elena still hadn't come back outside and neither had Jenna. Seeing that Caroline and Klaus were getting ready to leave, Damon headed back inside to let Elena know and to make sure Jenna was ready to go.<p>

"But why did it take Dad so long to see you as more than a friend?" he heard Jenna ask.

"Well, he believed that being friends was better than…anything else he thought we could be," Elena said. "And I never told your father how I felt about him, so it was partly my fault for not shaking him out of our friendship zone a little earlier. I never gave him the opportunity to see me as a woman. I was afraid he wouldn't feel the same way. And your father thought I didn't want to be anything more than friends."

"But you were in love with him for ten years. How could he not know?"

"I guarded that secret with my life, darling. I didn't want him to know."

"But he did figure it out," Damon said, poking his head into the room.

Elena grinned at him, "With a little help from my friends."

Jenna sighed, but her expression was wistful as she looked at him. "It's so romantic that you fell in love with Mom on Heaven's Isle."

Heaven's Isle held many favourite memories for the whole family. Damon might have taken Elena back to The Cape to propose to her, but they'd been married on Heaven's Isle. They'd even gone back and renewed their wedding vows there, ten years later. Jenna had been Elena's bridesmaid. Their daughter had heard the story of how Damon and Elena had fallen in love many times, but she never seemed to tire of hearing it.

"I was in love with your mother well before then," Damon enlightened her, sitting down on the bed next to Jenna. "I just didn't know it. Took her a while for her to realize I was in love with her when I did, too."

Elena smiled at him. "But I got there in the end."

"My point is," Damon said, nudging his daughter's shoulder gently, "we both got there in the end."

They had, they really had, Elena thought. There wasn't one thing she'd change about her life, even if she could. She had everything she'd ever wanted. Everything and more.

"Klaus and Caroline are getting ready to leave," Damon told her.

Jenna jumped off the bed. "I'm all packed to go, but I want to say goodbye to Dean first."

When their daughter rushed out of the room, Damon stood up and held his hand out to Elena. Her whole body trembled with the anticipation of what was to come once their visitors left them.

"Was that entire conversation all about Dean?" Damon asked.

"Yes."

"Of all the boys in the world, it had to be Stefan's son she has her first crush on."

"I think it's more than a crush," Elena told him, worrying her bottom lip.

"She's thirteen, 'Lena."

She turned her back to him and grinned. "At thirteen, I met you."

"Yes, and look at how that turned out."

"It turned out perfectly," she murmured as he wrapped an arm around her from behind.

"I can't argue with that. Still, it's _Stefan's_ son," he reminded her as he stared out the window over her shoulder at the boy in question.

Elena rolled her eyes, but she was laughing. Who would have thought fifteen years could change a person that much? Not Elena, that was for sure. Yet, Stefan had shown her just how wrong she was. Less than a year after Elena had first seen Stefan and Rebekah at the Grill together, Stefan had married his co-worker. They'd given birth to Dean Mikaelson a month before Elena had given birth to Jenna.

Rebekah and Elena had ended up in the same mother's group and Stefan and Damon had both been offered a partnership in Smith & Smith Advertising around the same time. Now the company was called Smith, Smith, Salvatore and Mikaelson. Stefan had taken his wife's last name at her request – something Damon ribbed him about mercilessly. And instead of being encouraged to compete, Stefan and Damon were now encouraged to get along for the sake of the business.

With the future of the company at stake, Stefan and Damon had found a way back to the friendship they'd initially had when they'd joined Smith & Smith in the first place. Soon, the four of them – Damon, Elena, Stefan and Rebekah – had been spending time together on a regular basis. The friendship had solidified over the years, and there wasn't too much the four of them didn't do together. And the way things were looking between Jenna and Dean, they could end up being grandparents together too, though not for a very, very, very long time, like a decade or two, if Elena had her way.

"Stefan is one of your best friends," she reminded him.

"For now. I'm not sure how I'll feel about him if Dean puts the moves on my daughter any time in the near future."

"I think we're safe. For now."

"Good," Damon said, sweeping her hair to one side to nuzzle his nose into her neck and inhale her perfume.

She pressed back against him, delighting in the fact that he still so obviously wanted her, despite the fact she'd given birth to their three children and the fact she'd already hit the big four-o.

"Happy?" he asked her.

"How could I not be?" she responded as they finally broke apart and started walking towards the back door.

Outside, their large garden was full of people laughing and having a good time. Everyone she'd invited had turned up to wish Damon happy birthday. They had a wonderful family, satisfying jobs, plenty of friends, and a love that continued to grow. Life was perfect, even more so tonight because she'd have her husband to herself for the rest of the evening.

She scanned the crowd for their children. Jason and Jordan were playing with Klaus and Caroline's two young girls, and Jenna was talking to Dean. Elena watched her daughter push her hair behind her ear and laugh at something Dean said.

_He might break her heart._

The thought was there before she could push it away, but she quickly reminded herself of one of the most important lessons she'd learned to date. A best friend could easily break your heart, but they could also make every one of your dreams come true.

If you let them.


End file.
